Dry ingredients
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup almond
1/2 cup pecan
Sweet ingredients
1/4 cup granular sugar (cane or brown)
1/4 cup maple syrup (or 1/8 cup honey**, 1/8 cup maple syrup)
**Tip — Honey is what makes the granola clumpy, use more of it if you want it that way
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (more if you like the taste)
2 big spoons of coconut oil
Granola addons
1/2-1 cup dried cranberries (or any dried fruits — figs, cherries, dates, apples have been good)
Steps
- Preheat oven at 375 degrees F
- Scoop oatmeal into baking tray. Scoop out your desired proportions for nuts and chop them roughly. Nuts should be smaller than halved pieces. Combine chopped nuts with oatmeal. Mix it up with hands.
- In a small pan, on medium heat, add in all sweet ingredients (sugar, maple syrup, honey, and cinnamon). Once maple syrup and/or honey start bubbling, be sure to keep stirring so granulated sugar does not carmelize. Keep going until it looks like all sweets are melted together. Process takes about 2-5 minutes.
**Tip — using honey makes granola stick together in clumps more, so use more honey if that is your desired outcome - Add in 2 large spoons of coconut oil and turn off heat. Stir in coconut oil quickly! You don’t want the sweets mixture to harden, it will be harder to work with. Once all coconut oil is melted pour mixture over the dried oatmeal and chopped nuts mixture.
- Stir so the sweet mixture coats all the dried ingredients. Press flat.
- Put into oven and bake for 12-18 minutes. It is done when color becomes a little golden.
**Tip — when using honey, granola tends to golden closer to 12 minutes - Remove from oven and immediately use a spatula to separate the granola from the tray. Push it around gently to lift it from the edges and bottom. If you want more chunks, don’t be too aggressive in mixing it at this stage. Doing this before it hardens makes it much easier to scoop it once cooled. Leave until it is cool, about 15-30 minutes.
- In a large jar, layer granola and dried cranberries into jar. At the end, shake jar well to mix everything together. If you’re using large dried fruit, be sure to chop into smaller pieces beforehand.
- Store in refrigerator to keep it crispy fresh! Can last up to 1 month+
