Granola Girl

This granola is a “must bake” in our house on a weekly basis.  It’s great to eat as a cereal with almond or coconut milk, or just crunch it away by the handful.  One batch fills up 2 cookie sheets for baking. 

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups rolled oats (or steel cut oats)
• 1 cup raw sliced almonds
• 1 cup raw chopped cashew pieces (or walnuts or pecans)
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup flax seeds
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
• 6 tablespoons coconut oil (or unsalted butter)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Optional items can include raisins, dried unsweetened cranberries (I tried unsweetened cherries but they got really crunchy/crispy)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Cover a rectangular baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix the dry oats, almonds, cashews, coconut, seeds and spices together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Heat the coconut oil and honey together in a small saucepan over low heat. Once the oil melts stir in the vanilla.
4. Pour the hot liquids over the dry ingredients and stir together with a rubber spatula until evenly coated.
5. Spread mixture onto prepared pan in one even layer. Bake for 75 minutes.
6. The granola will become crisp as it cools at which point you can break into pieces. Store in air tight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.