Fruit & Nut Granola – addictive!

Before you read this post, I should caution you:  Homemade Granola doesn’t taste like the box or the bag! It’s simply addictive. Give someone you love a piece of rope, and ask them to “watch you like a hawk!”  If they notice that your arm swings forward each time you walk by a bowl of this
granola, make them promise you, that they’ll tie your arms behind your back! 

Optional nuts: Almonds, Hazelnuts, Cashews, Pistachios, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Flax Seeds, etc. Dried Fruits: Dried Cherries, Dried Blueberries, Strawberries, Apricots, golden raisins, etc.

Ingredients

• For the Granola:
• 7 cups Old Fashioned rolled oats
• or use
• 3.5 cups rolled oats and 3.5 cups quick oats
• 1½ cups of coconut, large unsweetened flakes or shredded (optional)
• 3 cups nuts, either whole, chopped or slivered (optional)
• ½ cup of flax seed (optional)
• 1 cup of wheat germ
• Mix all of the above in a very large bowl.
• Then, in a large microwavable bowl or in a saucepan, mix:
• For the Syrup:
• 1 cup of canola oil
• ½ cup honey
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup water or milk (I added water)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ¼ cup real maple syrup
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• Dried Fruit added: Cherries, Blueberries, Golden raisins, Banana Chips
• 2 cups of dried fruit – added after the granola is baked and cooled.
• 2 cups of banana chips – added after the granola is baked and cooled.
• Optional: [u]for clustered granola
• 1 egg white whisked frothy (see notes below)

Instructions

1. Heat syrup mixture on stovetop until smooth and warmed-through, and stir.
2. Pour liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and stir with a big spoon until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed and wet.
3. (Add frothy egg white if using – stir well)
4. Bake in 2 large cookies sheets lined with parchment or silpats.
5. Bake for 25 minutes at 325
6. Stir and switch pan positions.
7. Turn oven temp down now to 225.
8. Bake another 15 minutes at 225.
9. Stir and switch pan positions.
10. Bake another 10 minutes at 225.
11. Note: My baking time was a bit longer than the recipe stated. I left the granola in the oven until it was a nice golden brown color – all the way through. For clustering, stir as little as needed.
12. Take it out of the oven and let cool. Add dried fruit and banana chips as desired.
13. Store in an airtight container. You can keep granola in the refrigerator in air-tight containers, if you don’t plan on eating it within one week.
14. It just won’t last that long!

Notes

For Clustered or chunky granola: 1. Mix your batch of granola. 2. Whisk an egg white in a small cup until it is frothy and foamy. 3. Stir the egg white into the granola. Spread the granola out in an even layer on your prepared baking sheet, and bake the granola according to the instructions in your recipe. 4. Take the granola out of the oven and let it cool COMPLETELY, preferably overnight, uncovered. When it cools completely it will be clumpy. If you pour it off the baking sheet while still hot it will break up into loose granola and not get the chance to clump up. 5. When the granola is completely cool, break up into clumpy chunks, and transfer to an airtight container for storage.c.

Recipe Source: Get off your butt and Bake