One time, in my freshman year of college, my friend Ana let me try some of her favorite granola, and I accidentally ate the whole bag in one sitting. I pretty much inhaled it, and to this day, I still feel sorry about #granolagate2013 (don't worry I replaced her granola). Because I cannot be trusted around other people's granola, I've made my own recipe for home made granola that's just as delicious as store bought and contains no refined sugar! I've also included recipe variations for if you want to make sweet and slightly salty peanut butter granola or a sweet apple pie granola!
Makes about 3 cups of granola
Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/3 heaping cup maple syrup
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 Tablespoon melted coconut oil or canola oil
1 pinch kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Optional Peanut Butter Variation: Add 1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons of melted peanut butter of choice to the ingredients. Maybe add some chocolate chips once the granola is baked and cooled.
Optional Apple Pie Variation: Add another half teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon clove as well as 1 and 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar to the ingredients then when the granola has baked and cooled, add 1/3 cup chopped dried apple to the mix.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 300F. In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, salt, nuts, coconut, and cinnamon.
Step 2: Then add in the maple syrup and sugar, as well as the oil and vanilla, and stir until all of the dry ingredients are coated.
Step 3: Pour this mixture on to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, until the mixture is golden brown and fragrant, make sure you stir the mixture halfway through cooking to prevent burning or uneven baking .
Step 4: Add in the raisins, let the granola cool and then put it in an airtight container, where it will stay fresh for about 2-3 weeks. I like to serve mine over plain greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey and blueberries or bananas! Enjoy!
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