Several of you lovely readers have made the Maple Pecan Granola (my very first post!) and a few of you have commented that it’s just way too sweet. Last time I made it, I felt the same way, too. Sure it’s tasty, but it’s really almost candy-like. In an effort to find something less sweet, especially for an everyday morning meal, I made several test batches and came up with two options that are still incredibly good but are about half as sweet as the original. You can find them on the updated recipe post, along with the original.
The first, and my favorite, mildly sweet option basically just nixes all the brown sugar. I like it because it still has nice, fairly strong (as in not crumbly) clusters, which is a make-or-break thing for me with granola, although they certainly have less structural integrity than the original recipe (there was a reason for all that syrup and sugar, after all). And there’s the added plus of this option having no refined sugar (except in your sweetened dried cranberries or cherries, if you’re using them – you can always choose raisins or another non-sweetened dried fruit if you want no refined sugar at all).
The second option cuts both the maple syrup and brown sugar in half and adds a little water to keep everything holding together. This option still has great flavor, although it’s a tad less maple-y, and it is definitely more frugal, since brown sugar is considerably cheaper than maple syrup. The clusters do break apart more easily, though.
If you make either of these revised recipes, please comment on this post and let me know how they turn out for you! I would be interested to know if any of you think that this is still too sweet for your taste or if you have any troubles with the recipe.
I haven’t made either of the revisions, but I have used molasses as a sweetner before when I make granola at night at work (this is what the women call pantry granola – since I make it with whatever has been donated that week and not used). I was worried that the molasses would be overwhelming, but it was not, and it was definitely less sweet than when I use syrup or honey. I also added shelled pumpkin seeds since I found some of those in the pantry, and called it ‘Autumn Granola’.