Granola is super easy to make at home. Besides being a bargain, you can also tweak it to your exact specifications. You may want to add a bit of cinnamon, or use maple syrup in place of honey, or add a whole mess of nuts and dried fruit. You may well want to add more sugar. Whatever makes the perfect granola in your mind can be made!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Yield: 4 cups
Ingredients:
- 4 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking or instant!)
- 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil and or butter (I like to use 2 Tbsp. of each)
- 1/4 cup honey, agave syrup, or maple syrup (a mixture is fine too)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds (optional)
- 1/2 cup raisins or currants (optional)
- 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds (optional)
Preparation:
- Preheat an oven to 300°F. Put the oats in a very large bowl and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, heat the oil and/or butter. Add the syrup(s) and brown sugar and stir to fully dissolve the sugar. Pour this syrup over the oats and toss excessively to coat the oats in the syrup mixture. Toss them a lot. You want all the oats very lightly coated.
- Spread the oats on a large baking sheet in as thin and even a layer as possible. Put in the oven and reduce the heat to 250°F. Bake, stirring once or twice, until golden brown, about an hour.
- Let the oats cool. Add nuts, dried fruit, and seeds, as you like, tossing to combine. Store in an airtight container for a week or two.
