Used with an array of tasty ingredients, these Granola Clusters take me back to my days of loving museli, and they are simple and delicious.
As a German, I sure love my muesli. So of course, I was happy to find some in the grocery store even here in Bali.
But I figured, something that's so good and healthy with milk or yogurt for breakfast can't be too bad as a day-time snack either, right?! Inspired by my friend Sarah, I got given the confidence that muesli is indeed very suitable for making granola. But not just granola, since I want it as a snack, but also bite-sized (or 2-bites-sized) granola clusters.
I picked an Apricot & Almond Muesli mix, and next to dried apricot bits and slivered almonds, there were also bran straws, sunflower seeds, and coconut already in the mix. So, I only had to add chocolate chips, raisins and cashew nuts to it. Perfect!
Finding Out How to Make This Recipe
Next, I started researching how I could get the granola to stick together in clusters. Some suggested an egg-white mixture, however, this didn't sound too appealing to me. Finally, Heather's recipe from Multiply Delicious with honey and syrup to make the granola stick was just what I was looking for.
I didn't have maple syrup, but pancake syrup (though not as healthy and natural), worked for me. Still, they didn't turn out for me on the first batch, and I learned a couple valuable lessons:
- There is probably a reason when a recipe calls for lining the baking sheet.
- You CANNOT go for a swim while the recipe that you are trying for the first time is baking in the oven!! Especially not if it is a gas oven with which you are unfamiliar and have only used for a couple weeks.
Funnily enough, the original recipe calls for 35-40 minutes of baking time, so I thought I could swim a few lanes and start checking at 25 min. Well, I came back to the kitchen to find these charcoal teeth-breakers (and spatula-breakers while we're at it!) inside the oven. Oops...
Learning from My Mistakes and Lowering the Cooking Time
The not-so-burnt tops could be used to sprinkle on my yogurt, but I actually broke the spatula when I tried to remove the burnt bottoms from the cookie sheet.
Still, I was determined to make these granola clusters work for me. I whipped up another batch (smaller, just in case), baked them on an aluminum baking tray (have no parchment at this place) and kept a close eye on them the whole time. At 15 minutes, they were already golden and just right.
Drizzled with some white chocolate, these granola bites were a crunchy, yummy and pretty healthy snack to go with my afternoon tea.
The recipe makes about 24 granola clusters. Have fun!
Granola Clusters Made with Muesli Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups muesli
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ¼ cup raisins or dried cranberries, blueberries
- ¾ cup halved cashewnuts or other seeds/nuts
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- â…“ cup honey
- â…“ cup syrup maple or pancake
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- white chocolate chips
- butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F/150C.
- In a bowl mix together muesli, chocolate chips, raisins, nuts and salt. Stir together honey, syrup, butter and vanilla in a small saucepan and heat over low heat until mixture is liquid (1-2 min)
- Pour honey mixture over muesli mix and stir to moisten (some of the chocolate chips will melt). Using a tablespoon place heaping mounts of muesli on a lined baking tray. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden (in my gas oven 15 min. were enough). Let cool fully before removing from baking tray.
- Melt a few white chocolate chips, add a little butter to make more liquid and drizzle over the cooled clusters.
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amy
Ooh, these sound great! Sorry about the burnt batch (+ your broken spatula) but it looks like it was worth it in the end - they turned out wonderful!
Regina
Haha thank you Amy, I am so glad I didn't give up on them. My husband and I gobbled them up in no time. And the spatula was easily replaced for about 40cents at the store 😉