Homemade Granola

Granola is good. It's good by itself. It's good in a bowl with milk. It's good mixed with yogurt and fruit. 

It's so versatile and I love making it at home because you know what's in it and you can make it however you like. I've bought it at the store before but it's just not as good as homemade and it has an "old" or "stale" taste to it. Blech! So, without further adieu here's the recipe I use, which has been adapted from Alton Brown's recipe. 

Granola 

Ingredients:
3 C rolled oats
2 C nuts (you can use all of 1 nut or a mixture of: chopped/slivered almonds, cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds, etc.) 
3/4 C shredded or flaked coconut
1/4 C plus 2 T coconut palm sugar
2 t cinnamon, optional (to taste...I didn't measure it when I put it in)
1/4 C plus 2 T maple syrup
1/4 C coconut oil, melted
3/4 t salt
1 cup dried fruit (raisins, craisins, apples, etc.), optional 
--- I don't like dried fruit in my granola but my kids and husband do so I make a separate batch for them.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 250°.

2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, brown sugar and cinnamon (if adding).

3. In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, melted oil, and salt. 

4. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Spread the granola out in an even layer.

5. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15-30 minutes. I think I stirred it every 30 mins because I kept forgetting about it :)

6. Remove from oven and transfer to a large bowl. Add dried fruit (if adding) and mix until evenly distributed. 



If you make some let me know which kind you make. Enjoy!