Granola Recipes from Salon.com

Winning recipes from Salon.com’s Granola kitchen challenge last year:
see all the recipes’ descriptions here, or check them out individually below:

1. “Reluctant Hippie Granola”
2. Extra Rich “Granola for a Near-Perfect World”
3. Chunky vs. Crumbly “Granola for Dragging the Babies Around”
4. Chocolate Granola
5. Raisin & Date “Grainola”
6. Accidental Hippie “Mama Granola”
7. “Heart-Healthy Müesli” / Granola
8. Extra Nutty Granola
9. “Cheap & Easy” Parfait Granola
10. Brilliant Granola “Flapjacks”

“Everything but the Kitchen Sink” Cookies

(from New Frontiers Natural Marketplace in SLO). These are really similar to my oatmeal, brown sugar, & chocolate chip cookies. The addition of the coconut gives them a tiny bit of macaroon-esque sponginess, but the walnut tanginess plus the salt made them barely a little bitter, so I’d recommend omitting the salt and probably cutting out a tablespoon or two of the butter.

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3 Tablespoons cream
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup fine coconut flakes (I chopped mine superfine because I don’t like strandy, dental-floss-like bits of coconut)
• 1 cup dried cranberries (I chopped these up a bit, too)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional; I minced superfine. You can also replace with white chocolate chips)

Equipment

• parchment paper
• electric mixer
• cooling rack

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Sift flour and set aside.

3. Using medium speed on electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, eggs, and cream; mix thoroughly. Add sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; mix on low until completely incorporated.

4. Stir in oats and any or all of the remaining ingredients to personalize cookies.

5. Using hands or ice-cream scoop, form dough into 1.5oz. balls (about 1 1/2 tablespoon) and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (or an ungreased one). Flatten balls down evenly with your fingers or with the back of a lightly floured wooden spoon.

6. In preheated oven, bake for 16 minutes or until an even, barely-golden brown; halfway through baking time, turn baking sheets. Remove from oven and cool cookies on a wire rack.

Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza

Makes two 9-inch pizzas, each serving 4 to 6

Equipment

• Stand mixer with dough hook
• Large mixing bowl
• Box grater
• Rubber spatula
• Saran wrap
• Medium saucepan
• Tape measure or ruler
• Rolling pin

Dough

• 3 1/4 cups (16 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (2 3/4 ounces) yellow cornmeal