Holiday season is upon us! It is the time to cherish what we have, to love, and to give. My favorite thing to do is to make edible homemade gifts, so that I can give a part of me, to my loved ones. Edible homemade gifts can range from cookies, homemade jams, chutneys, spice mixes, or granola. I love packaging edible gifts in glass jars and keep the decoration modern and elegant.
When Williams Sonoma reached out to me to do a Guest Post for their blog called Williams Sonoma Taste, I was flattered and utterly delighted! I could not be happier and I was jumping with joy! I have been a HUGE FAN of Williams Sonoma ever since I have heard about it. Their store is simply beautiful, and it is a joy to walk in their store. Their displays are always well done, and their catalog is gorgeous. My husband who is a designer himself, loves the WS work in the catalog and he has an absolute keen eye for design. This was an opportunity I could not pass. They asked me to develop a recipe for a homemade edible gift. I had many ideas, but one idea particularly was what Williams Sonoma loved, which was a Rose, Pistachio, Halvah Granola! You can check out the Guest Blog Post on the Williams Sonoma Taste Blog here.
I have been making a Rose and Strawberry Granola in the past every year. I use strawberry puree along with honey to sweeten the granola and give it a fruity taste. I love edible flowers in my foods, and use them in various ways. Rose Strawberry Granola is subtley floral and fruity which I love! Using this recipe, I developed the Rose, Pistachio, and Halvah Granola.
I am sharing my recipe for this really delicious Rose, Pistachio and Halvah Granola on my blog as well. Taking inspiration from middle-eastern flavors, this is a winning combination! I use dried rose petals, pistachios, almonds, as part of the dry mixture. The spices are simply cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, to give it the warm winter feels. After the granola is baked in the oven, I add the dried apricots and halvah and let it set till it cools. Your kitchen will smell amazing with the rose petals, and the warm spices, along with the halvah! This granola is easy to make, and make perfect holiday gifts for your loved ones. My favorite way to have the granola is with greek yogurt sweetened with apricot jam, and this beautiful granola on the top!
You can find Halvah at any Middle Eastern Store, or even on Amazon.com. It is a crumbly sesame candy that is delicious, you could eat it by itself. My husband does not even eat granola, but he has been eating this one as a snack or even after dinner as dessert with homemade almond milk! It is seriously addictive!
I hope you get to try this recipe, because once you try it, you will get addicted too! If you do make it, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab and/or leave a comment in the blog post.
Make homemade edible gifts for your loved ones, package them in a pretty, elegant way and am sure it will be appreciated.
Until next time,
Love,
XO
Amisha
Ingredients
- 4 cups rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups coarsely chopped pistachios
- ½ cup coarsely chopped almonds
- ½ to ¾ cup dried rose petals
- 1 tsp cardamom powder
- 1 tsp nutmeg powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp rose water
- 1 cup chopped dried apricots
- ¾ cup halvah(available in Middle Eastern Stores or on Amazon)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Keep 2 baking sheets ready with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix the oats, pistachios, almonds, rose petals, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, salt.
- In a small saucepan, on medium heat, add coconut oil, brown sugar, honey, and whisk until brown sugar blends into the mixture about 4-5 minutes. Switch off the heat. Add in the rose water and whisk to blend.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Divide the granola between the 2 baking trays, and spread it flat. Bake the granola in the oven for 45 minutes in total, stirring it around every 15 minutes to make sure that the granola bakes evenly.
- After 45 minutes, remove the trays from the oven. Add in the apricot and stir it gently immediately. Add in the halvah next and press it into the granola. Let it cool for an hour.
- Once completely cooled, fill them up in glass jars, and they are ready to gift!
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