In a nod to the holiday season, Blackbird pastry chef Nicole Guini packs her chewy go-to granola with festive cranberries, currants, and pecans. It keeps for a couple of weeks, so you can make extra to have on hand for unexpected seasonal guests.
Nicole Guini’s Holiday Granola
Yield:9 cups
Active time:15 minutes
Total time:1.5 hours
| 2⅓ cups | Rolled oats |
| ¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp. | Steel-cut oats |
| ¼ cup | Pepitas |
| 1 cup | Pecans |
| ⅓ cup | Olive oil |
| ½ cup plus 1½ Tbsp. | Honey |
| ½ cup | Raw sugar |
| ½ Tbsp. | Vanilla |
| 1¼ tsp. | Salt |
| ⅔ cup | Dried currants |
| ¾ cup | Dried apricots |
| ⅔ cup | Dried cranberries or cherries |
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine both kinds of oats, pepitas, pecans, olive oil, honey, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl.
Toss well with a spatula, ensuring oats, seeds, and nuts are evenly coated.
Transfer mixture to a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake until browned, 30 to 35 minutes. (It will be quite soupy once the sugar melts.)
Shake the pan gently every 5 minutes so the honey doesn’t burn, and rotate the pan halfway through baking.
Remove the pan from the oven and immediately scatter the dried fruit over the mixture while it’s still hot, mixing with a wooden spoon to evenly distribute the fruit, then let cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes.
Break the granola into smaller clusters with a knife or your hands, or pulse in a food processor.
Serve over yogurt with fruit. It will keep in an airtight container for up to two weeks.