Tolkien Cooking: Carrock Granola

Carrock Granola by Astrid Tuttle Winegar

Beorn lives near a great rock that he calls the Carrock. Why does he call it that? Because that is his name for it. Perhaps he brings with him a giant bowl of granola, and sits there contemplating the nearby Misty Mountains and other philosophical matters. It is likely that Beorn would pour cream on this granola; I would suggest milk instead, unless you feel you can afford the calories.

Carrock Granola

2½ cups old-fashioned oats
2 ounces each:
pecan halves
walnut halves
sliced almonds
¼ cup dry roasted salted sunflower seeds
¼ cup dry milk powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup walnut oil
½ cup honey
6 ounces dried cherries
3 ounces each:
chopped sugar dates or chopped dried figs
dried blueberries
raisins

Preheat oven to 350°. Liberally coat a 13″ by 9″ glass pan with cooking spray. In a very large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. In a 2-cup glass measure, whisk together the oil and honey. Pour over the oat mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon. Pour into the pan (don’t bother washing bowl) and bake for a total of 30 minutes. Stir with the wooden spoon at 10 and 20 minutes. Remove and let cool in pan for one hour.
Meanwhile, combine the dried fruits in the bowl. Break up the oat mixture with the wooden spoon; pour this into the bowl and mix well. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Makes about 8 cups.

Great as a snack, a breakfast cereal, and a topping for ice cream; it also pairs well with yogurt. It is known as Quest Depot Deluxe Granola in my cookbook.

Astrid Tuttle Winegar

Astrid Tuttle Winegar is the author of Cooking for Halflings and Monsters: 111 Comfy, Cozy Recipes for Fantasy-Loving Souls, which is currently available in e-book form on the Amazon Kindle, but will soon be released by Oloris Publishing! Stay tuned for details. For now, she is mostly telling a culinary Middle-earth story here on Legendarium. Astrid has loved C. S. Lewis since childhood, J. R. R. Tolkien since middle and high school, all Star things, both Trek and Wars, all things Whedon, and many other things besides… She lives in the enchanted city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband and dog. She blogs occasionally at . You can check out (and like!) her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/halflingsandmonsters or visit her Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/astridwinegar. Staff Reporter.