Well, dear friends, we are nearing the end of October and that means that soon, this series will be coming to an end. But, before I conclude this Cozy series, I have a few more posts to share with you. Today's is a scrumptious recipe for homemade granola...
This recipe is taken from the Vermont Country Store cookbook and has been ever so slightly tweaked by me. After literally a decade of searching for a granola recipe that we love everything about, this was where we landed...a good place to land, if you ask me! {{smiles}} One thing that we love about this recipe is that you put everything into a food processor and gently grind it just until everything is chopped up nice and small. If you like big pieces of dried fruits and whole nuts in your granola, you would just skip this step, but for us, this really made the granola so much more enjoyable to eat. It also makes it 100% easier to use as an ingredient in other recipes, such as my Apple Granola Muffins, which I shared about on Monday. (see HERE)
I hope you get the chance to try this recipe...it's great on vanilla yoghurt, with fruit, in muffins, etc.
Simply From Scratch Scrumptious Granola
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup walnuts
1 cup pecans
1 cup raw almonds
1/2 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 dried cranberries
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Combine the oats, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, pecans and almonds into a large bowl. In small batches, lightly pulse the mixture in a food processor, until everything becomes chopped up. You can skip this step if you prefer more chunky granola.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, olive oil, cinnamon and salt and stir into the dry ingredients. It will look just slightly moist.
Spread the granola evenly onto a large baking sheet tray that has been greased. Bake in a 325*F oven for 45 minutes, stopping every 15 minutes and stirring the mixture to prevent burning.
While the granola is in the oven, place the dried cranberries, dried apricots, and shredded coconut into the food processor and pulse just a few times until they become smaller. You can skip this step if you prefer larger pieces of fruit. Then, immediately stir into the warm granola and combine thoroughly.
Let cool completely before storing in mason jars. It will keep there for up to 2 months.
Enjoy!
♥