GRANOLA

GRANOLA

When I couldn't find a granola in the store that I liked, I decided to create my own. Am I glad I did! I thought it would be tricky and difficult. But, not only is this an easy recipe, it tastes SO much better than anything from the store! This is much more economical and delicious. Try this and see for yourself. You'll never buy granola again.

For a printable version of this recipe without photos click here.

Ingredients:

4 cups rolled oats (not instant)

1 cup puffed rice cereal

½ cup sliced almonds

½ cup chopped cashews or pecans or walnuts

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup oil

1 cup dried fruit (dried apricots, apples or cranberries)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ cup honey

pinch of salt

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.

Pour the uncooked oats, dry cereal and sugar into a large bowl. Add the cinnamon, nuts and salt, mix well.

Pour oil into the measuring cup. Spread it around the cereal mix. Pour honey into the same cup and the oil left in the cup will help get the honey out of the cup. Add the vanilla to the bowl and toss everything together until evenly coated. You may need to break up any clumps of honey with your fingers.

Pour everything out into a large cookie sheet with a lip. You may need to do this in more than one batch.

As you can see, I put a sheet of parchment paper down first. This is because I'm lazy and don't like to clean sticky cookie sheets. If you have not tried using parchment paper when you bake, TRY IT! It makes everything so much easier.

Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes, carefully turning it to reveal the other side. Continue baking for another 15 minutes until it turns a golden brown.

When it is finished cooking, allow to cool slightly. Add the fruit and stir to combine.

Store in an air tight container. Makes 6 to 7 cups.

Try this and modify it to your taste. Add different nuts or seeds, use your favorite fruit or leave it out. How did you make this your own? Leave a comment below and let me know! Thanks for stopping by!

EASY CRUNCHY GRANOLA