Martha Mondays: Maple granola

I took a hiatus from Martha Mondays because of the holidays, the blizzards and the traveling.  Now that I have the luxury of free weekend, I set aside some time to make this week's Martha Mondays project, chosen by Maryann and Stirring It Up with Meg.  This week's pick was a good one: Maple granola from page 24 of the February issue of Martha Stewart Living.

My husband and I love granola, so I was excited to give this recipe a try.  I've tried a few other granola recipes before, always with mixed results.  The most difficult part of making granola is trying not to burn it.  The coconut and nuts in the granola, plus all the sweetener, can turn a little too brown too quickly if I'm not watching it.

Martha's maple granola was pretty standard:  maple syrup, coconut, walnuts, brown sugar and nutmeg.  We ran out of olive oil, so we used grapeseed oil (a favorite of my husband's) instead.  I skipped the sesame seeds and added chopped dried pears, since we're still trying to get through a box of dried fruit my husband bought on a whim this summer. (He wanted snacks for his fishing trips.)  I made a stop at a local health foods store, hoping to find unsweetened coconut chips, but I couldn't find them.  So I just added sweetened shredded coconut.

This may be my new favorite granola recipe.  I loved the sweetness of the maple syrup.  I poured a little milk over the top, trying to replicate the picture in MS Living.  My one complaint is that this granola may be a touch too sweet for my taste.  But it's very possible that I may have measured something wrong.  The granola actually turned the milk a light tan color, I'm assuming from the maple syrup.

I'm going to file this one away in my recipe box, but make a note to maybe reduce the maple syrup and/or brown sugar a tad.  Loved this week's Martha Mondays pick!  Thanks for the challenge!