Recipe: Wild Elder Granola

By Amber Finsel, The Winemaker's Wife

People often ask for suggestions on how to use our Elderberry Syrup. It is delicious on it's own and many have told us it is the best Elderberry Syrup they have ever had. Elder is an immune boosting powerhouse and, in our household, we take the syrup straight in shot glasses daily as a wellness tonic. But the balance of aromatic spices (ginger, clove, and cinnamon), smooth rich elder fruit, and sweet honey make this syrup ripe with culinary possibilities.

Necessity sparked an innovation to my usual granola recipe this morning in our kitchen. We are out of honey. I've tried maple syrup in the past and it just isn't the same. So I thought: Why not try using the Elderberry Syrup instead?

Like most ingredients involved, my method of measuring honey in my granola recipe is somewhat imprecise. The general rule of thumb is to use enough to get the oats all coated and somewhat sticking together. There is a real risk of over-sweetening, so I try to pour conservatively.

The Elderberry Syrup is not as thick as honey and is roughly 2 parts decoction to 1 part honey. However, the following recipe resulted in granola that was sweet enough to my taste and easily sweetened further by topping off with the elder or maple syrup in the bowl with some yogurt. So yummy!

Wild Elder Granola

Ingredients

3 cups Whole Rolled Oats

1 cup Walnuts

1/2 cup Raw Pumpkin Seeds (or other seeds like flax or sunflower)

3/4 cup Dried Cranberries

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2-3/4 cup Wild Elder Elderberry Syrup

Directions

• Preheat oven to 315.

• Set a large metal roasting pan on medium heat on your stovetop. Add the oats and stir to spread them and toast evenly.

• Add the walnuts, breaking them into smaller pieces in your hands if they are whole and keep stirring.

• Add the pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, and salt. Stir and continue to toast! The mixture should be getting rather warm and fragrant, but nothing should brown.

• Drizzle the elderberry syrup evenly over the mixture, being sure everything is lightly coated as you stir it all together.

• Immediately remove from heat and put in the oven. Set at timer for 10 minutes.

• After 10 minutes, remove granola from the oven, stir, and return to the oven, baking for an additional 5-7 minutes until it looks done. You want it looking toasty but not dry or burnt.

• Remove granola from the oven and immediately transfer from the pan to a dish. Stir in the cranberries right away.

• Serve warm or cooled in bowls with a few dollops of plain yogurt, with or without some additional syrup drizzled over top.