Welcome back to the 12 DIYs of Christmas! Today I’ve made some granola jar gifts from a recipe I’ve personally been using and loving all year! Granola is my new (or not so new) favourite breakfast that when paired with a bit of greek yoghurt, is tasty, fresh and keeps me full until lunchtime – a miracle! This gift is not only homemade but also personal as I feel like I’m sharing something I love so much myself.
Homemade granola can definitely made a little bit gourmet with the range of ingredients I’ve used. Its also a great alternative to store-bought types.
If you already make your own granola, you can use whatever recipe you like for these granola jars. However the original recipe I use to make granola comes from Geneva at A Pair & A Spare, which I’ve tweaked to my liking. Thanks Geneva!
Granola Jars
You will need:
-Oats
-Seeds such as pepitas and sunflowers
-Nuts such as almonds, macadamias, hazelnuts etc
-Dried fruit such as shredded coconut, cranberries, apricots etc
-Coconut Oil
-Rice Malt Syrup
-Jars
To start, its best to measure out your dry ingredients into seperate bowls. While its not a big deal to use slightly different ratios of ingredients, its good to get an idea of how much you’ll use. For two 500mL jars, I measure out 2.5 cups oats, and a cup each of nuts, seeds, shredded coconut and around a half cup of dried cranberries.
Begin by adding the wet ingredients to the bottom of the jar: first the rice malt syrup, then coconut oil. For my 500mL jars I used a 1/4 cup of each, split between the two jars.
Be careful to not let the wet ingredients touch the sides of the jars, to keep the layered effect. Once the wet ingredients are in, put the jars in the fridge to allow the coconut oil to harden. This will give a good base to add the dry ingredients in. Coconut oil melts at 24 degrees Celcius, so as long as you keep the jars is a cool dry place, it should stay put.
Next, alternate layers of oats, seeds, nuts and dried fruit to your liking. Keep in mind you will need to end up with around 1/2 the jar being oats, and the rest split between the nuts, fruit and seeds. You may like to use a funnel to get the ingredients in place. Between each layer, shake the jar gently from side to side to even it out and get rid of any extra space.
I went with a slight Christmas theme by using the green pepitas and red cranberries, but you can use whatever you like to add colour, such as dried blueberries and apricots.
Once you’ve reached the top of the jar, add extra oats so that when you close the lid, the layers will be compressed slightly. This will help keep the layers in place.
Voila! You have a layered granola jar gift, ready to bake & eat. Lastly, add a label with a list of ingredients and baking directions:
Pour contents of jar into a bowl, mix together. Spread onto a lined baking tray and cook for 10-12 minutes in a moderate oven, turning once.
If you’d like to add something extra to your gift, add in a wooden spoon, small jar of honey and place them in a bowl.
Don’t forget to check out my other posts in the 12 DIYs of Christmas!
