Granola Goodness

I really really love things that are crunchy (just ask anyone who's been in the same room with me and a bowl of goldfish crackers). Add sweet and nutty and slightly salty to the mix, and I am in heaven. My sweet friend Shanda invited me over to her house for a remedial bread-making lesson and also let me try her homemade granola, and I could feel the swellings of a new obsession taking shape. As soon as I could gather the ingredients, I made a batch of my own, and my life has never been the same. I could eat this three meals a day plus on top of ice cream for dessert. Not that I've done that...

It's a good thing it's chock full of good-for-you, because otherwise I could never justify the crazy amount of it I've eaten over the past two weeks.

Here is my version of her recipe -- I added a few things that I really love:

Granola

¾ c. pure maple syrup
½ c. coconut oil
¼ c. honey
2 T. molasses
2 t. vanilla extract
2 t. cinnamon
½ t. salt

8 c. rolled oats
1 c. sliced almonds
1 c. shredded coconut (unsweetened, but if you only have sweetened on hand it turns out fine)
1 ½ c. seeds – I mix sunflower, pumpkin, flax, and sesame seeds
½ c. chopped dates

Preheat oven to 300º F. Line cookies sheets with foil (I use three cookies sheets to get enough surface area).

Mix wet ingredients in large bowl. Add dry ingredients and toss until evenly combined. Spread on cookie sheets to ¼” – ½” thick. Bake 45 min. total, flipping granola every 15 minutes until golden brown. Do not allow to overbrown.

Try not to eat it all before the kids get home from school…