Ovomaltine Granola

Although I love the taste and convenience of the many delicious Swiss müeslis and granolas (and the fact that so many of them contain chocolate), it is cheap, easy, and satisfying to make your own.

You can put pretty much anything you like into your granola—nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, spices—and for a malty, wholesome, delicious twist: Ovomaltine.

More on the famous mix-in-milk powder here.

Trubschachen Yogurt

I need a lot of granola in my life, because since moving to the Emmental my yogurt consumption has increased by about 240%.

I've always been an avid Swiss yogurt fan because they have truly superior yogurt in myriad flavours.

(Straciatella! Chestnut! Apple strudel! Belle Hélène! Blood orange! Hazelnut!)

And now we live near Käserei Götschi, a local dairy that makes the town yogurt.

Town yogurt. What a magical place.

But the dairy doesn't only provide yogurt to the region, they also provide butter to the local Kambly cookie factory—one of Switzerland's finest food producers, with delicious products, a lovely origin story, and the most insanely generous sampling spread at any factory outlet, ever.

It's a really nice place to live.

I've adapted this recipe to my specific granola needs, but two great granola guides are Felicity Cloake's How to Make the Perfect Granola, and this Buzzfeed guide.

For a pine flavoured variety, check out my post on Tannen Granola.

300 g oats

150 g pecans, roughly chopped

50 g oil or melted butter

100 g syrup (maple, treacle, honey, birnenhonig)

70 g Ovomaltine powder

1 tbsp cinnamon

pinch salt

100 g dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 170 C / 375 C / gas mark 5.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, nuts, oil, and syrup. Sprinkle over the Ovomaltine powder, cinnamon, and salt and mix well with a wooden spoon or your hands.

Spread the mixture evenly on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for about 30 minutes (rotating the sheet halfway through) or until you can smell the granola and it has browned to your liking.

Once it is out of the oven you can sprinkle over the dried fruit/chocolate and give it a good mix.

Let cool completely before storing.

You can really use any combination of nuts and fruits—I just think pecans and dried cranberries pair nicely with the Ovomaltine. Almonds would also be nice, and dried apricots.
In Switzerland, oats mostly come in two forms, fein or grob (fine or coarse). The coarse oats remain whole, while the fine oats are cut into smaller pieces. In North America, there are many more forms of oats, like quick cooking, steel cut and rolled, all of which involve pressing or cutting the oats, mostly to reduce cooking time. Usually it is preferable to use coarse oats for granola.
For extra decadence you can add 100g chopped dark chocolate at the end—if you want the chocolate to melt into the granola, then mix it in while the oat mixture is still warm from the oven. If you prefer chunks of chocolate, just wait until the oat mixture has cooled, then stir it in. Both are delicious, though the melted version is a little messier.