Don't know if you've noticed but the price for a decent granola is ridiculous, especially considering how cheaply it can be made at home. Even better is that when you make it yourself you know exactly what's in it. Nothing artificial and no preservatives...Yay!
Here's my recipe, but this is incredibly versatile, so tweak it all you want until you find your perfect granola!
Ingredients:
2 heaping cups whole rolled oats (don't use quick cooking or instant)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup honey (best to use local honey, but any will do)
1/8 cup pure maple syrup or molasses
1/8 cup firmly packed brown sugar (you can add more if you like a very sweet granola)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/3 cup sliced almonds, or chopped walnuts, or pecans, etc... (optional)
1/3 cup dried fruit of your choice (optional)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (you can used waxed paper, too.)
In a large bowl, toss the oats with the cinnamon and salt.
In a smaller bowl, combine oil, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, and extracts.
Whisk until completely combined.
Pour the honey mixture over the oats and use your clean hands to combine them. You'll need to gather up the mixture a few times, making a fist each time to make sure all the oats are coated and you've got a little bit of clumping going on.
Spread it out evenly, leaving a few clumps here and there, onto the baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and using a metal spatula, lift and flip all of the granola.
Now sprinkle the nuts over the top and return to oven, and bake another 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool completely. Then remove from pan and into an airtight container. After it's cooled, you can toss with dried fruit such as raisins or cranberries, etc... if you want.
This will keep about a week in the airtight container, but it always gets eaten before that in my house.
