Given the title of this post, you’re probably already wondering about the story behind this recipe. It all started with I started hunting through the Star Trek cookbook for any recipes I might want to include in my Voyager menu. I saw the Maquis Breakfast Bars and thought they looked delicious: homemade granola bars with rolled oats, dates, cranberries, dried apples, shredded coconut, and a bit of honey. I haven’t made anything like that before, so I whipped them up one morning. They turned out great…until it came time to cut them. When I tried to slice the giant sheet of baked granola it absolutely crumbled. There was no way I was going to get even a few bars out of it.
Disappointed, I began to nibble on the crumbled bits as I thought about what recipe I should make to replace it. I stopped short. The granola tasted A.MAZ.ING. I couldn’t stop eating it, and after I shared a handful with the Little Mister, he was hooked too. I crumbled up the remnants in the pan and turned it into loose granola, which the Little Mister and I have been eating with our breakfast every morning since (once it runs out, he may mutiny).
Since I loved the flavor so much, it seemed wrong to scrap the recipe in favor of something else. I didn’t want to risk adding more liquid, since it held together really well in the bowl and I didn’t want to risk soggy granola. Instead, I decided to present it here on the blog as granola bowls. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did!
P.S. The original recipe calls for melted butter and honey to hold the granola together. For a healthier option, I think melted coconut oil would work equally well with the honey. I haven’t tried it yet, but I intend to. I’ll let you know how it turns out! 🙂
A
Maquis Granola Bowls
Crewman Kenneth Dalby: Look, Commander, you know as well as I do that we’re used to playing with a different rule book. There’s the Starfleet way, and there’s the Maquis way.
Commander Chakotay: And you want to do things the Maquis way?
Crewman Kenneth Dalby: That’s right. That’s always worked for us.
— Star Trek: Voyager
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup wheat germ (I used ground flax seed, which worked just as well)
- 1/2 cup instant nonfat dry milk (You can also use it to make astronaut pudding!)
- 1 cup dates, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup dried apple, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
Makes approx. 1.5 lbs granola
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, stir together everything except the butter, honey, and vanilla until well combined.
You may want to get in there with your hands to make sure all the date pieces are broken up (they like to stick to each other). - In a small saucepan on low heat, melt together the butter and honey, stirring regularly. When the mix just begins to simmer, turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the mix over your dry ingredients and stir until well incorporated. Be thorough–you don’t want any dry bits!
- Grease a 9″x13″ baking pan and spread the mix evenly in the pan, pushing it right up the corners and making sure it is flat. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring and flattening again every 8 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely, then break up the granola into bite-size bits with a spoon. You can store it in a ziplock bag or eat it right away. It works well dry, but I like to eat it in a bowl with milk like cereal! 🙂
- Serve to your fellow Maquis as you adjust to life aboard a Federation vessel!
Check out my other Star Trek recipes!
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