I love Grape Nuts Cereal. As a kid, my favorite cereal in the mornings was: bran flakes! Of course, Cookie Crunch was right up there but the chance of it appearing on my breakfast menu was pretty slim. So, I developed a liking for grainier cereals at an early age.
This morning (which was a perfectly lovely morning, I might add), I went grocery shopping. One of the items on my list was cereal. You should have seen me reaching for cereal, reading the label and replacing the cereal on the shelf. Quite frustrating if you’re trying to balance taste and nutrition. While James can stomach plain shredded wheat, I have yet to reach that state of nirvana.
My favorite cereal these days is Quaker Oats Squares. Raise your hand if you think that cereal is ridiculously overpriced. Thank you. We don’t buy them unless we see them at Big Lots. We don’t buy Grape Nuts either–cause that’s an awfully small box for that big, big price. I managed to find a couple of boxes of Kashi cereal on sale and came away with them for James…but nothing for me. Nothing but a plan, that is…
If you’ve been reading for any amount of time, you know one of my favorite cookbooks is the More with Less Cookbook by Doris Jantzen Longacre. I happened to remember a recipe for Grape Nuts within its pages, so I set out to conquer.
Mother’s Grape Nuts
(with variations)
makes 2.5 lbs. 350*
3 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c wheat germ I was out, so I used wheat bran. Not the same thing, I know…
1 c brown sugar
2 c buttermilk
1 t baking soda
1-2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt: the original recipe calls for a pinch of salt but the result was horribly flat tasting.
Batter/Dough
beat until smooth. Spread dough on 2 large greased cookie sheets. Bake 25-30 minutes. While still warm, break into chunks and whirl briefly in a blender. I found that I needed to tear the chunks into about 1 inch pieces, about 1 cup at a time.
You'll need smaller pieces than this...
after the blender, untoasted
Crisp in 250″* oven for 20-30 minutes. Store in airtight container.
Toasted grape nuts
Result? Really delicious. This recipe would also work great for graham crackers–with a few substitutions, that is.
Yes!!! I also love Grape Nuts, so thanks for the recipe, Becca! (I know we have that “More with Less” cookbook lurking around here somewhere; guess I’m going to have to go digging for it and check it out. Not to mention, gulp, the Quaker Oats Squares…
the MWLC has lots of cereal recipes that are actually fairly simple to make. The grape nuts tasted SO good this morning for breakfast with horizon organic whole milk that James found on clearance. Like dessert, almost!
Love your new header! What a great photo of you two. Thank you for sharing this! I, too, was recently shocked at the price of cereal-especially the healthy kind:)
Thanks Carla. That old header started to look kind of grim to me…
I thought we should see both of us. We set up the tripod to take this shot the night of our Christmas Party. Hope you make the grape nuts. Let me know what you think!
Thanks for sharing this! My husband is a big fan of Grape Nuts. We have all but given up on buying them these days though as the price is not worth what you get. I can’t wait to try this recipe out. I make homemade granola every couple weeks so this will be nice for something different!
I know you’ll love it. This recipe seems so much easier to make than granola–though I’m sure you’re a pro at it since you make it so often!
grape nuts do come in an incredibly small box! i used to know a girl who loooved them and ate huge bowls of it and then she’d swell up a little bit later!!! hhaha! i got some yummy kashi cereal the other day! mmmm i need some now!!! i love this! tooooo cool! (dont remember who it was specifically… but i remember it)
You’re not talking about me, are you? ‘Cause I don’t remember doing that.
I’ve never tried grape nuts but I’ve going to try these!
Should this be baked in a 250-degree or a 350-degree oven? The recipe lists 350 at the beginning, but 250 at the end…
that’s correct. bake the first dough at 350. when you have blended the resulting “pastry,” bake it in the oven at 250
Never mind, I re-read and see that it’s baked twice – sorry!
Interesting recipe, which I’ll give a try. ‘Grapenuts’ is supposedly a ‘wheat and barley’ cereal. Is there a wheat and barley version? Thanks for sharing!
Hi Phil, it would be really simple to substitute some barley flour for some of the wheat flour in the recipe!
Damn! I have all these grape seeds lying around. I thought I finally found a way to get rid of them. Thanks-a-lot!