Oat Clusters

One thing that absolutely love about boxed cereal are the oat clusters. I mean, who doesn't love picking them out from the Honey Bunches of Oats cereal and just snacking on them??? So when I saw a recipe from Mark Bittman in his cookbook for oat clusters, I HAD to make them right away. You know what? I'm so dang glad I made them because they are SO GOOD. I no longer have to open a new box of cereal for those oat clusters any more! Dr. Sweetpea eats these oats with his morning yogurt parfait with fresh fruit too!

Oat Clusters

(Source: Mark Bittman and Melissa Clark)

6 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup honey or maple syrup (I used honey)

1/4 cup coconut or neutral oil (I used vegetable oil)

1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Heat oven to 325 and grease two baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. 

Use a food processor to grind 1 1/2 cups of the oats into a flour. In a large bowl, combine the ground oats with the honey, oil, and cinnamon if you're using it, and 1/4 cup water. Stir in the remaining 

4 1/2  cups oats until they're coated and the mixture is sticky; if it looks too dry, stir in a bit more honey. (**Tip: let this mixture sit for 10 minutes before spreading onto baking sheet) Spread the mixture evenly over the prepared baking sheets. 

Bake, stirring occasionally to break the clumps apart and cook them evenly, until the oat clusters are crisp and dry, 35 - 45 minutes. Let cool completely before serving or storing. These will keep in an airtight container for two weeks. 

**So I added the tip of letting this mixture sit for 10 minutes by referencing the Coconut Almond Cluster Granola recipe by Melissa Clark from the NY Times. It lets the oat flour to become fully hydrated and helps to create nice clumps of oats. 

Note for when I make this again: When I make this recipe again in a few weeks, I'm going to to try using my hands and drop oat mixture onto prepared baking sheets in one layer, and pinch together into clumps with my fingers like what Melissa did in her recipe.