Breakfast Made Easy with a Recipe for Granola from Prune in NYC

[Jump right to the recipe: Granola]

My endless quest for quick and healthy breakfast options is, well, still endless. I’ve added waffles, muffins, and French toast to my repertoire which is a great start. Sadly, I’m easily bored when it comes to breakfast so I can’t rest on my laurels or I’ll be right back in the fast food drive through window before you can say “oatmeal”. Happily, the breakfast fairy must have been watching over me. Sensing that I was nearing my breakfast boredom limit, she delivered unto me a recipe for a simply divine granola like the one served at the acclaimed Prune restaurant weekend brunch in New York City. The vehicle for said recipe delivery? None other than Prune chef Gabrielle Hamilton herself! I was lucky enough to attend Chef Hamilton’s cooking class celebrating her newly minted memoir Blood, Bones, and Butter at the Central Market Cooking School and she shared several Prune favorites with us, including this wonderful granola.

There’s no two ways about it, this granola is most tasty. As Chef Hamilton says, it’s a grown-up granola because it’s cooked just a little longer than most so it has a slightly stronger taste that’s perfect for us adults. It tastes great splashed with milk and topped with fresh fruit (they serve it with bananas at Prune). I’ve also found it’s a great addition to my Fage Yogurt, and in a fun twist on dessert, Chef Hamilton recommends it as a crunchy topping for panna cotta. The recipe is really just a starting point for making your own custom granola blend (like wine, but for breakfast) with all sorts of combinations of nuts, seeds, and spices. I already have the kernel of an idea for a fall version of this recipe rolling around in my head that adds a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg along with some pepita seeds. And finally, this recipe is crazy easy. All you have to do is mix and bake. The finished dish keeps for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container, but I doubt it will stay around in your house that long. And I bet once you’ve moved to homemade granola, tweaked just like you like it, you’ll have a hard time going back to the store-bought stuff.

Effortless Entertaining Tip: Keep a batch of this granola around the house when you have guests in town for easy breakfasts and snacking. You can leave out dried and fresh fruit for everyone to customize their own mix. Pack up some granola in a pretty bag tied with a bow as a travel snack when your guests hit the road.

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