Recipes & More
Baking with Metropolitan’s Granola
Did you know Metropolitan’s granola is great for baking? Packed with dried fruit, nuts, seeds and whole oats, it gives texture, crunch and healthy whole grains goodness to tarts, cookies, scones and more. Use your own recipe or try the following — developed by James Barrett, baker and co-owner of Metropolitan Bakery:
Metropolitan Granola Cookies
Yield: 1 dozen large cookies or 3 dozen small cookies
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2/3 cup stone ground whole wheat flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 and 1/3 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups Metropolitan Bakery granola
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and whole wheat flour. Stir in the oats. Cream together the butter with the sugars until light in color. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Fold in the granola. Place heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto baking trays one inch apart and flatten cookies slightly. Place tray in the upper third of the preheated oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.
Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.
Baker’s Tip: Most professional bakers use kosher salt for a cleaner salt flavor.
Baker’s Tip: When creaming butter and sugar, use a stand mixer on medium speed. Butter should be soft but never melted. Stop after one minute and scrape down with a plastic paddle. Repeat a couple of times until sugar is completely dissolved. If you don’t have a mixer, leave the butter out the night before (to prevent a sore arm)!
Photo and Recipe © 2008 Metropolitan Bakery
Summertime Crunch Parfaits
Yield: One parfait
Ingredients:
- 1 (six) ounce container of plain or vanilla yogurt
- Metropolitan Bakery Granola
- Metropolitan Bakery Red Berry Jam (See recipe, below.)
- Commercial or homemade lemon curd
In a tall glass, layer the ingredients carefully to create distinct layers. First, spoon some jam into the bottom of the glass. Then add a layer of yogurt, a layer of lemon curd and a sprinkle of granola. Repeat the layers until glass is full.
Metropolitan’s Red Berry Jam
Yield: 1 quart
Ingredients:
- 5 pints fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups dried strawberries
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup dried tart cherries
- Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
In a large non-reactive saucepan, stir together 3 pints of the strawberries and the sugar. Cook over medium heat until the fruit becomes juicy and the mixture begins to boil. Reduce the heat to low; simmer the mixture 10 minutes. Add the dried strawberries, the cranberries, cherries, and lemon zest and juice. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid scorching. (At this point, the jam should be fairly thick.) Stir in the remaining 2 pints of strawberries. Simmer the jam over very low heat, 12 to 15 minutes more. Cool the jam to room temperature; transfer to a covered container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Baker’s Tip: Try www.cherrycentral.com for dried berries.
Baker’s Tip: Using commercial lemon curd saves time. Check the label to ensure the ingredients are all natural, and if possible, locally made.
Photo and Recipe © 2008 Metropolitan Bakery
1 Comments on “Baking with Metropolitan’s Granola”
Looks Delicious!