A Granola Making Day...

I had a bit of free time today, so I decided to make some granola.

 A friend of mine (thanks Sue!) used to make this for Christmas, and we learned to love it.   I’ve taken a few liberties with the recipe (some in our family don’t care for sesame seeds or coconut, so I added more dried fruit instead!)  It’s very simple to make... the baking is a bit time consuming, but it's worth it! 

 If you have a lot of inside work that needs to be done...you can fit it in between "stirrings"...just so you're close enough to hear your timer go off!  I got my laundry folded and some bookwork (yuck) done while it baked this morning.

MAPLE GRANOLA

Combine in a large bowl:

                 2 lb 10 oz rolled oats (large container)

                2 cups wheat germ

                1 cup chopped almonds (I use the raw, slivered almonds)

                1 cup chopped raw (or unsalted) cashews

                1 cup raw (or unsalted) sunflower seeds

                several cups bran flakes (optional)

Combine and pour over dry ingredients:

                2/3 c. vegetable or canola oil

    2 + cups pure Maple syrup (I use maple flavored pancake syrup, since the real stuff is so expensive!)

                1 tsp. vanilla

Combine and set aside until after baking:

                1 -2 cups dried fruit (craisins, pineapple, papaya, apricot, etc)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour onto a well greased jelly roll pan. (This recipe is large enough that it will take at least 3 jelly roll pans full until you're finished, so plan when you have a large chunk of time!)

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Remove when lightly browned.

Add dried fruit and cool.

Store in an airtight container.

The second pan is almost finished in the oven…and it’s beginning to smell pretty good in here!

Here’s the finished product…   

We'll be eating granola for weeks!