My Husband, is a horrible, horrible liar. His eyes and upper lip does this thing & he almost immediately smiles after he does it. so, when he tells me that I make the best granola he has ever had in his entire life – I believe him. That and the fact that him and my son polish off a batch quicker than I can jar it up!
I decided to make a batch of granola mostly because I was bored on maternity leave but also craving carbs & didn’t want the guilt of devouring a batch of cookies.
I now make this every two weeks or so and use it as a snack straight from the jar, on Greek yogurt, on top of oatmeal, in-place of cereal (great with soy milk).
The most important part of this recipe, if you have kids … let them get involved! This is a fun mess to make and if they sneak bites while helping, there are no raw ingredients that can harm them.
INGREDIENTS
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1½ cup raw nuts and/or seeds (I used 3/4 cup almonds, crushed and 3/4 cup mix of pepitas, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and chia seeds)
1 teaspoon fine-grain Himalayan sea salt (if you’re using standard table salt, scale back to ¾ teaspoon)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup melted organic coconut oil
½ cup raw local honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅔ cup dried fruit, chopped if large (I used unsweetened dried cherries)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts and/or seeds, salt and cinnamon. Stir to blend.
Pour in the coconut oil, honey and vanilla. Mix well, until every oat and nut is lightly coated.
Pour the granola onto your prepared pan and use a large spoon to spread it in an even layer. Bake until golden, about 21 to 23 minutes, stirring halfway. The granola will further crisp up as it cools.
Let the granola cool completely, undisturbed, before breaking it into pieces and stirring in the dried fruit.
Store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks, or in a sealed freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. I like to use recycled jars. In the photo we used an old coconut oil jar and an old pickle jar!
