Is-This-Really-Gluten-Free Granola

A few weeks ago, when I was back in Pennsylvania visiting my parents, my mother made a delicious granola with flaxseed recipe from an old Martha Stewart magazine. It had all of my favorite granola ingredients--dried blueberries, dried cranberries, and coconut. To boot, it had flaxseed meal in it for extra health benefits. I got the recipe from her and decided to make it for myself.

Shortly thereafter, I was reading Gluten-Free Girl and was sort of shocked to discover that Shauna had made granola for herself. Oats have long been a murky area for people with celiac disease--some say they are fine, others not. No product that contains oats can claim that it is gluten-free, merely wheat-free. Plus, Pierre had told me that he had problems with oatmeal when he was younger, so we have steered clear of it. After reading her rather persuasive post citing the Celiac Center at Columbia and after researching some articles at the Celiac Disease Foundation Web site, I asked Pierre if he wanted to try again. He read her post, too, and was overjoyed at the idea of it. Apparently, McCann's is gluten-free (if oats are indeed gluten-free), or as close to gluten-free as it gets. I visisted their Web site, and though they do not make the gluten-free claim, the facility they use is dedicated purely to the processing of oats, so the risk of cross-contamination is incredibly low. Good enough odds for us.

Given that steel-cut oats are of a different texture than regular rolled oats, I knew that I'd have to adapt the Martha Stewart recipe and give the oats a longer cooking time. Plus, I tweaked a few other ingredients. Here's my version:

Gluten-Free Granola with Flaxseed

2 cups McCann's steel cut oats (not quick-cooking)

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

3/4 cup sliced blanched almonds

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3-1/2 cup honey

1 1/2 tablespoons flaxseed oil

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup dried blueberries

1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1-2 tablespoons ground golden flaxseed

1. Preheat oven to 250°. Toss together oats and almonds in a medium bowl; set aside. Whisk together vegetable oil and honey in a small bowl; stir into oats mixture. Spread out oats mixture on a greased, rimmed baking sheet.

2. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until golden brown, 1 1/2-2 hours. About 30 minutes before oats mixture is done, add the coconut and stir thoroughly. Return to oven until golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes; toss with flaxseed oil. Let cool completely. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in dried cranberries, blueberries, sunflower seeds, and ground flaxseed.

We both enjoyed this immensely. It's a little crunchier than regular granola, but it's so delicious. You can taste the honey in every bite. So far, he has not had a reaction to it, but we'll see how he feels after a few more days.