the perfect granola for summer…

I love granola.

Over the years, I’ve made countless versions of granola: oats and walnuts, oats with puffs and sesame seeds, almonds and oats, almonds with pepitas and sunflowers seeds and oats. Sometimes I add dried fruit, like strawberries or plums or raisins, and sometimes I don’t. Over the winter, I discovered that an extra dose of molasses creates a dark, caramelized version of granola that I find highly addictive. The molasses version is particularly satisfying when it’s cold outside and I’m craving deep, caramel-y flavors mixed with crunch.

A couple of weeks ago, I worked with a client who was hosting her college girlfriends at her beach house. I made dinner for them on Friday night, and then left them some goodies for the weekend, including this granola. What is different about this version, though, or at least different from any other version that I’ve ever made for myself is that it contains no nuts. One of her friends is highly allergic to nuts, so she asked me to create a version without nuts so that they could all enjoy breakfast together.

At first, I was skeptical. One of my favorites parts of granola is the buttery, crunchy texture of whatever nut that’s been added. Almonds, walnuts, cashews…love them all. And the seeds: sunflower, pepitas, sesame…love them too! So what’s granola with no nuts or seeds? I’ll tell you: downright delicious!

This version is lighter, crunchy, slightly sweet with a touch of salty, and a perfect compliment to summer’s juicy berries and sticky-sweet stone fruit. I love this recipe so much I confess I’ve made 5 batches of this granola in the last two weeks! I’ve been sharing with friends, which is exactly what I recommend you do. Make a batch, split it in half, and walk the other half to your neighbors house, or drop off to a unsuspecting friend. Or better yet, keep the entire batch but invite a group of friends to join you this weekend for brunch. Sprinkle on top of unsweetened yogurt and summer’s freshest fruit, and it will be a party in no time.

~ Enjoy!

Here is a combination from earlier this week: summer granola with yogurt, figs, and pakistani mulberries that I found at the farmers market.