Honey Granola with Big Clusters
Big, craggy granola clusters built on rolled oats, toasted nuts and a honey binder, baked low and slow on one pressed sheet. Bee pollen is scattered over at the very end, once everything is cool, so it stays bright — and so it is easy to leave off for anyone allergic to bees or pollen.
Ingredients
The Dry Mix
- 4 cups (360 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup raw pecans or almonds, roughly chopped
- ½ cup raw pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes, added partway through the bake
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
The Binder
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted, or a neutral oil
- 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg white, whisked frothy (optional, but it makes bigger clusters)
Stirred In After Baking
- ⅔ cup dried tart cherries or chopped dates
From the Hive
- ⅔ cup Go Honey 100% Pure & Raw Honey, or Go Honey Jarrah Honey for a darker, caramel note
- 2 tablespoons Go Honey Bee Pollen, scattered over the cooled granola as a finishing ingredient
Instructions
Set a Low Oven
Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C) and line a rimmed half-sheet pan with parchment. Low and slow is what dries the oats through without scorching the honey.
Toss the Dry
In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon and salt. Use a bigger bowl than you think you need — you want room to toss, not fold. Hold the coconut flakes back for now; they'll go in at the halfway rotation so they toast instead of scorch.
Whisk the Binder
Whisk the melted oil, honey, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth. If your raw honey has crystallized, stand the closed jar in warm tap water until it pours — a hot pan or a microwave will strip the aroma before it ever reaches the oats. Baking will cost the honey some of its raw edge anyway; that trade is what buys you the caramel and the crunch.
Coat and Press
Pour the binder over the dry mix and stir until every oat looks glossy, then fold in the whisked egg white if you are using it. Tip it onto the sheet pan and press it into one compact slab about ½ inch thick, using the back of a spatula and real pressure. That pressure is the whole cluster trick.
Bake Without Stirring
Bake 45 minutes, rotating the pan once at the 25-minute mark, scattering the coconut flakes over the top as you turn it. Do not stir at any point — every stir breaks the slab back into loose oats. It is done when the edges are deep golden and the middle smells toasted, even though the whole thing still feels soft.
Cool, Then Break
Leave the slab on the pan, untouched, for a full hour until it is cool to the touch. Break it into big shards with your hands, then scatter over the dried cherries and the bee pollen and toss once. The pollen goes in here, off the heat and fully cooled, because oven temperatures dull its floral flavor and its raw character — folded in at the end it stays bright and soft-crunchy. Two notes on it: leave the pollen out for anyone allergic to bees or pollen, and honey does not become baby-safe by being baked, so this is not for children under one either way.
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