Divas on a Dime: Caramel Honeycomb Granola

By Patti Diamond

Crispy, Crunchy, Caramel Dream: The Secret Behind Salted Caramel Honeycomb Granola.

You guys! The crunch. I can't stop eating this stuff. Make this recipe at your own risk.

You know I love creating recipe mashups, right? Well, I wanted to do something fun with the old standby, granola. So, I spent a day in the kitchen going all "mad scientist" to create a totally new twist. I thought of the smell of burnt sugar, nostalgic like caramel corn at the mall. Oh, yes. Then, how about the crunch of light-as-air honeycomb? Yes. Are you with me?

What if granola, caramel corn and honeycomb had a baby? And we ate it?  I did it! It is amazing.

If you've never made granola from scratch, you're really missing out. It's easy, cheap and tastes so much better than the stuff you buy at the supermarket. But this. This recipe is exceptionally delicious, if I do say so myself. So light and crisp that it practically melts in your mouth. It's gluten free, too.

I kept it simple and affordable. The main granola ingredients are oats, peanuts or almonds, and crispy rice cereal. I chose to add crispy rice cereal to the oats because it's so light and crispy, and it adds great texture to this recipe. And the honeycomb caramel is just butter, brown sugar, honey or corn syrup, and baking soda.

Of course, you can add anything you like to this granola, I only suggest you choose ingredients that stay crunchy. Items like additional nuts and seeds, shredded coconut or toasted quinoa would be good. I'm not so sure about chewy dried fruit or chocolate. But if you try it and like it, let me know.

Genius upgrade for granola -- Salted Caramel Honeycomb. PHOTO CREDIT: www.JasonCoblentz.com

SALTED CARAMEL HONEYCOMB GRANOLA

Yield: about 7 cups

Total Time: 35 minutes

What You'll Need:

• 2 cups old fashioned oats

• 1 cup peanuts or sliced almonds, or more to taste

• 3 cups crispy rice cereal

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 cup honey or corn syrup

• 1/2 cup (one stick) butter

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Here's How:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You're going to do two things at once, like chewing gum and walking. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Spread the oats and peanuts on the pan. Place this in the oven for 5 minutes to toast. Stir and return to the oven for 5 minutes more.

Meanwhile, place the crispy rice cereal in a large heatproof bowl and set aside.

In a saucepan on medium heat, melt the brown sugar, butter and honey or corn syrup. Stir this occasionally until it begins to bubble, then let it bubble for about 5 minutes.

Now get the toasted oats and peanuts out of the oven and mix with the rice cereal in the large bowl.

Next, remove the caramel from the heat and add the salt and vanilla, and stir. Next, whisk in the baking soda and watch as it gloriously foams and froths. Immediately pour this over the oat and cereal mixture in the bowl. Mix it all together with a couple of wooden spoons until the cereal is coated. Spread the mixture back on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, stirring halfway through. Allow it to cool before breaking up and store at room temperature.

So, what to do with all this scrumptious stuff? You can serve this mash-up on yogurt, ice cream or French toast, or use it to top sweet potatoes or give extra crunch to baked apples. Or eat it by the face full. I highly recommend it.

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Lifestyle expert Patti Diamond is the penny-pinching, party-planning, recipe developer and content creator of the website Divas On A Dime -- Where Frugal, Meets Fabulous! Visit Patti at www.divasonadime.com and join the conversation on Facebook at DivasOnADimeDotCom. Email Patti at divapatti@divasonadime.com

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