For years granola seemed just too intimidating to consider making at home. This belief couldn’t be farther from the truth. It is so easy to make granola and you are the boss of what goes into it. If you don’t like something, leave it out. If you prefer another ingredient, add it.
Here is a good starting recipe, with input from the ever-reliable David Lebovitz and from a recipe by Todd Harrington, chef of Las Vegas’ Yardbird Southern Table, found surprisingly in People magazine.
Uncle Steve gave us a jar of organic almond butter so we tried including it. Wow! Our granola was even better. Peanut butter works too, and we hear that 1/2 cup of chocolate chips goes very well in the recipe too.
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
(1/2 cup almond butter or peanut butter)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/3 cup pecan pieces
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup flaked unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup dried cherries
Heat oven to 300°F. Combine oil, maple syrup, almond butter if using, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and sea salt in a large bowl. Mix well. Add oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, pecans, and almonds. Mix well.
Spread the mixture into an even layer on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Bake until the granola is slightly golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, turning once.
Let granola cool before breaking up. Add the coconut, raisins, and cherries, and toss together.