Granola is a pantry staple! And this homemade granola recipe, Big Cluster Maple Walnut Granola, is crunchy and lightly sweetened making for a delightful and healthy breakfast or mid-afternoon snack. Grab the recipe plus check out my cookbook review of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes and Wisdom from an Obsessive Home Cook, by Deb Perelman.
Back in January I rambled on about how one of my blogging new year’s goals was to add cookbook reviews back to my regular blogging routine. I have sooo many cookbooks sitting on my bookshelf that I reference and occasionally cook from but I want to utilize more; and this little cookbook review feature is what helps push me to cook from them and sometimes even try new things.
I’ve done one cookbook review so far this year and my goal is to do one every other week; which I think is realistic since so far I’ve cooked enough from 3-4 cookbooks that I could do an honest review of them, I just have to buckle down and blog about it!
So today’s cookbook is The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, from the ever popular blogger Deb from The Smitten Kitchen Blog. I guess you could say Deb, who has been blogging for over 10 years, is THE original food blogger. She has a loyal, loyal following and I have made or eaten her recipes made from friends, several times, and loved them all. So it’s no surprise that she was also one of the first food bloggers to write her own cookbook.
I received this cookbook as a gift from a friend several years ago, and have been cooking from it off and on. While there are a lot of different recipes in this book, it seems like there are a few recipes that are also already on her blog, in addition to the new recipes. So far all the recipes I have tried are delicious and had rave reviews from everyone I served it too. Since we loved every one of them so it was hard to decide what recipe to share today as part of this cookbook review. I ended up going with this recipe for Big Cluster Maple Walnut Granola.
We really love granola, in fact fruit and yogurt parfaits topped with homemade or store-bought granola, is my go to breakfast. My husband also likes snaking on granola, and because of this likes granola clusters, so that he can eat it on the go, as opposed to in a bowl with a spoon. For years I struggled with figuring out how to make the best granola clusters, without it burning, and that’s when I discovered the little egg white trick from The Smitten Kitchen. The egg white, plus a low and slow cooking method, helps keep the granola together so that you can break into chunks or clusters, making for the perfect snaking granola!
Here are my thoughts on this cookbook and you can grab the Big Cluster Maple Walnut Granola recipe below!
Pictures: Yes, this cookbook is filled with beautiful photos taken by Deb and EVERY recipe photo not only has one photo but several, including pictures of the recipe making process!
Prep Time, Cooking Time, and Number of Servings listed: No cooking or prep times. It does have the servings listed.
Nutritional Information Provided: No
Clear, easy to follow directions and ease of preparation: For the most part the recipe directions are easy to understand and easy to follow. And while there are many simple recipes, there are several with many steps involved and a few recipes that have lengthy directions that could be simplified.
Easily available ingredients and budget friendly: For the most part, most of these recipes contain readily available ingredients and are budget friendly.
Grapefruit Olive Oil Pound Cake (page 241)
Variety of recipes: This cookbook has not only a wide variety of dinner recipes, including an entire section of vegetarian recipes, but also breakfast, dessert, appetizer and drink recipes.
Special feature: There is a chapter with all of Deb’s kitchen essentials, from her recommendations for a kitchen scale, to even bowls. There is also a recipe unit conversion chart and every recipe has cooking notes and tips at the bottom of the recipe, as well as a little story about each recipe, just like Deb’s blog.
Pancetta, White Bean & Chard Pot Pie (page 163)
So far I have made (all pictured):
Grapefruit Olive Oil Pound Cake (page 241)
Pancetta, White Bean & Chard Pot Pie (page 163)
Big Cluster Maple Walnut Granola (recipe below)
Other recipes I have bookmarked:
Blueberry Cornmeal Butter Cake (page 245)
Apple Cider Caramels (page 277)
Corn Risotto Stuffed Poblanos (page 134)
Gooey Cinnamon Squares (page 207)
Fig, Olive Oil and Sea Salt Challah (page 45)
You can purchase The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes and Wisdom from an Obsessive Home Cook, by Deb Perelman, here.
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup ground flax seed
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 large egg white
- 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl stir together the rolled oats, coconut flakes, walnuts, ground flax seed, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk egg white until frothy. Add egg white, maple syrup and coconut oil to granola mixture and stir to combine.
- Spread granola in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated 300-degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes, turning pan half way through baking to evenly bake.
- When granola is evenly browned and feels dry to the touch, transfer the pan from the oven to a cooling rack and cool completely. Once granola is cooled completely cool, break granola into desired sized clusters.
- Transfer granola to an airtight container and carefully stir in dried cranberries. The granola will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Recipe adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Other The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook reviews and recipes:
Coffee Toffee {My Kitchen Love}
Plum Poppyseed Muffins {Eat Live Travel Write}
Pork Chops with Cider, Horseradish, and Dill {Dinner a Love Story}
Grapefruit Olive Oil Pound Cake {Pink Parsley}
Pancetta, White Bean & Chard Pot Pie
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