House Blend Granola Recipe

I love granola. I would happily eat it every day - twice a day. I especially love the granola I make with this recipe.

5 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup coconut. You can leave this out if you don't like coconut - I love the toasty flavor it gets. Maybe try some wheat germ instead?

1 cup chopped nuts. Any kind except sunflower seeds. They taste good, but they always float to the top of the milk and make the final bowl look less pretty.

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup sweetener. I like to mix two kinds - I think that gives it a deeper flavor. Try a scant 1/2 cup of brown sugar with a few tablespoons of honey or maple syrup.

1/2 cup oil.

Mix it all together. Spread on an oiled baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Stir once halfway through cooking.

Eat one bowl hot out of the oven, topped with some dried fruit and cold milk or warm apple cider. Let the rest cool completely and store in a sealed container. Serve with milk, cider, or yogurt.

I love mixing and matching different nut/fruit/sweetener combinations to get different flavors. Some of my favorites are dried apricots with almonds and honey (mmmm. . .) and dried cherries with cashews and maple syrup (fancy!). My everyday basic is raisins with almonds and honey. So good. And I just happen to have a pan in the oven right now.