So, funny story… a local farmer here sells gluten-free and organic rolled oats for a smashing good price here. In fact, she sells them to health stores all around southern Ontario. Unfortunately, they usually end up in the bulk bins for 2-3x the price and where they run the risk of being cross contaminated.
So rather than buy a tiny little 1kg bag of gluten free and NON organic rolled oats from who knows where for $10/bag, I do the “smart” thing. I go to the farmer and say to her, “Why yes, I would like to buy your bulk bag of oats.” I pat myself on the bag thinking I’m getting about 25 lbs, buying local, organic and supporting a farmer. Well turns out, I’m getting all that and supporting a farmer and buying a 50 lb bag of oats, cause that’s the size of the bag they come in, and they don’t do half bags.
Whoops. 50 lbs is a lot of oats.
I bought it anyway. The guilt of seeing the size of the bag across her shoulders may or may not have factored into the decision to purchase. It was an excellent price. Half-pat on the back. I got half of it into the freezer. I’ve puréed a bunch of oat flour. Oat flour makes great muffins. Lots of oatmeal in the future. And oatmeal cookies. And granola/granola bars.
Okay, I’m thinking up more oat recipes. Maybe I can make bread.
This should be a good one. But you know what they say: necessity is the mother of invention. You wait and see. I will find a way to use it.
In unrelated news, “Santa” is giving out home-made granola for Christmas this year. As great as I thought the Apple Brown Betty Muffins were, this stuff has 1000x more awesome packed in every bite. It tastes pretty darn close to a certain store-bought cereal containing almonds and honey and oats and a lot of unpronounceable chemical ingredients. I can also make a pretty big batch of it in about 15 minutes (plus cooling time).
No burning or uneven toasting, no setting off antsy smoke detectors, no long waits. They also cluster quite well, unlike some of the baked granola recipes I’ve tried.
Heck. Yes.
No-Bake Maple Granola Clusters
Print recipe
| Prep time | 5 minutes |
| Cook time | 10 minutes |
| Total time | 15 minutes |
| Allergy | Tree Nuts |
| Dietary | Gluten Free, Vegan |
| Meal type | Breakfast, Snack |
| Misc | Pre-preparable, Serve Cold |
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1/4 cup almonds (chopped coarsely)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon cold milled flax seeds
- 2 teaspoons chia seeds
- pinch salt
Optional
- 1/4-1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, craisins)
Directions
| Step 1. | In a heavy-bottomed pot or deep skillet on medium heat, toast the chopped nuts and oats, stirring frequently, until fragrant and slightly golden. |
| Step 2. | Remove the oats and nuts from heat. Pour them into a mixing bowl and lightly sprinkle with salt. Add the chia seeds, brown sugar, flax seed, and dried fruit. Give it a mix so that everything is well blended together. |
| Step 3. | Return the pan to the stove, and bring the 1/2 cup of maple syrup to a boil. Remove from heat, and pour over the oats in the mixing bowl. |
| Step 4. | Stir the oats until everything is well-coated with maple syrup. Pour the coated oats onto a large sheet of parchment paper to cool. |
| Step 5. | To get good cluster clumps: use a longer sheet of parchment paper, and fold it over the oats and press down to make a firm-packed, compact rectangle of oats approximately 1/2 inch thick. |
| Step 6. | Store in an airtight container once cool. |
Recipe adapted from Kitchen Simplicity.
I eat oatmeal or granola pretty much every day for breakfast and I love baking with it. It might take awhile but it would be fun to use up 50 pounds of high quality oats because ones at the store are definitely expensive. These clusters are genius!
Thanks Laura! They have definitely been going over well… I’ve been handing them out as Christmas presents to my friends and son’s teachers. I’ve been told that the bags I’ve been handing out don’t last 24 hours before they’re all eaten! I really like this recipe, and it’s so quick on the stove.
It is really a shame we’re not closer in proximity; I wouldn’t blink at splitting a 50lb bag of those glorious oats with you. Or I’d have gotten my OWN 50lb bag. And taken some great photos us us shlepping our goods back home, over our shoulders.
Chocolate granola, these tasty little maple nuggets, cranberry muesli, hot oatmeal dressed up all fancy, oatmeal cookies, oat muffins, oat tart and quiche crusts, fruit crumbles, oat popovers, oatmeal cookie dough ice cream… I’m going all Bubba Gump on you now. I’m an oat FREAK and, thus, vote for a series dedicated to my fav grain. Call it 50 Pounds Oats? xxx+o
I love it. I’ve used up about 10 pounds of it already. 14 pounds are stashed in the freezer, a friend took 5 pounds off my hands, and I’ve got about 20 pounds in large bins in the kitchen, much of which will be used making more Christmas Granola 😉 Let me know if you feel like doing up an oat recipe roundup! 😉
I followed you over from Natural Family Friday… and I loved your oat story! That is *exactly* something I would do!
And I’m itching to try this recipe… because, yeah, making granola and setting off the smoke detector just go together around here… 🙂
~ Christine
Welcome Christine! Glad to have you visit. I’m glad I’m not the only one who sets my smoke detector off when making artisan-style bread or granola. Everyone thinks I’m a dodgy cook when I tell smoke detector stories, but mine are set off by particulate matter in the air. I even have to be careful that I leave windows open when taking a steamy shower 😉
This sound wonderful! I can’t wait to try them. We buy oats, flour, sugar and a variety of staples in bulk. It saves money and we do wind up using them. It’s just a different approach on shopping and cooking.
Anne…we purchase 50lb bag oats regularly. I put 1 cup in a sealable sandwich bag and put them in a drawer in our butler’s pantry. Each time I try a recipe, I take a bag or two (whatever the recipe calls for) and it saves time measuring the oats. We eat oatmeal daily. Hmm, never thought about making flour though. Duh! We are both gluten free and use a variety of flours. I will try making my own. As children (a family of 5) we would make 5 piles of dry oats on the table and each of us would stand in front of our pile and see how fast we could eat the whole pile! Actually, I take regular pinches of dry oats before cooking them. They are delicious! Try giving a pinch to your children for a quick snack. it’s actually quite good. Thanks for the recipe! I look forward to trying it! : )
Haha, I’m a family of 3 and one of them is wee little. It’ll probably look a lot less intimidating when he’s 15 and eating me out of house and home!
I highly recommend oat flour. I’ve been using it mixed in cookies and alone in muffins with excellent results. The only downside to oat flour is it goes rancid fairly quickly, so I’d only make what you need or keep it in the fridge. Try the oat flour in muffins. I’ve got two GF muffin recipes so far… a banana-oat and an apple brown betty. They have both been popular!