It seems like a lifetime ago when I experienced the BEST MEAL OF MY LIFE at Eleven Madison Park, the now highest ranked American restaurant on The World’s Best 50 Restaurants coming in at number 3.  While the dinner was memorable on its own, the take-home breakfast presented at the end of the meal was an even stronger reminder that Eleven Madison Park aims to deliver from start to finish.  The Eleven Madison Park granola comes in a cute little mason jar, and actually makes for a better breakfast than a little cake, which can be dry the next morning.  What makes it the granola different from the rest is the salty sweetness from the generous dash of salt.

Eleven Madison Park’s from 3 years ago

My version

The granola is actually really easy to make.  Mix your dry ingredients (oats, nuts, dried fruits, salt) and your wet ingredients (olive oil, maple syrup, brown sugar).

It’s a nice sticky mess when you combine it all.  You’ll spread the mixture into an even layer on a baking sheet with silicone baking mat or parchment paper

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 300 degrees and voila!  My apple chips came out a little too brown, so I might err on the shorter bake time.  I also did not toss the granola half way through baking because I wanted to keep the granola in big chunks.

I’ve actually seen different recipes.  One calls for currants and golden raisins and another calls for dried cherries.  I’m not a huge fan of raisins so I went for the cherries.  They are pretty tart, so it may not be for everyone.

There’s a New York Times recipe floating around which I don’t believe to be accurate since the granola I had never had coconut, pistachios, or cherries.  Instead, I found this recipe with some minor tweaks of my own.  Both recipes call for 1 tablespoon of salt which I learned the hard way is WAY too much salt.

Eleven Madison Park Granola
Adapted from Eleven Madison Park: The Cookbook
Makes 6 cups

2 3⁄4 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup pumpkinseeds
1 1/4 teaspoon salt (I used Kosher)
1⁄2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup dried sour cherries.

1. Preheat oven to 300. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, almonds, pumpkinseeds and salt.

2. In a small saucepan set over low heat, warm the sugar, syrup and olive oil until the sugar has just dissolved, then remove from heat. Fold liquids into the mixture of oats, making sure to coat the dry ingredients well.

3. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and spread granola over it. Bake until dry and lightly golden, 30-35 minutes.  Stir granola a few times along the way, unless you want more granola chunks.  Leave it undisturbed.

4. Remove granola from oven, and mix into it the dried sour cherries. Allow to cool to room temperature before transferring to a storage container.

If you’re looking for a simple treat, or love granola but don’t like the store bought brands, try making your own with this great recipe.  I love the salty sweetness, and crispy golden maple sugar goodness.  You can also make your own tweaks and add whatever nuts or dried fruits you like.  You probably would want to stay in the same proportions of nuts/oats to sugar though.