The Yummiest Granola

Sometimes I struggle when people ask me for a recipe. Not because I don't want to share, but because for the things I make often, I usually don't measure the ingredients. Granola is a perfect example. I started out with a recipe I found online, but eventually changed it to suit my tastes. Now I make it once a week and hardly measure a thing. But it's SO good. And I love homemade granola because you know exactly what's in it (even if you are a little loosey-goosey on the quantities). 

Does anyone else always have a cat under their feet when you're in the kitchen?

I'm going to kind of guess at the quantities of things below, but they are about right. If you choose to try this, just do you. You really can't mess it up too badly. Almost all the ingredients are optional or you can swap them out for something else. Are almonds on sale? Use those instead of walnuts. Don't like dried apricots? Pick any other dried fruit, or none at all. Hate coconut? Leave it out. I've honestly found that if I start with about three cups of oats and use about the right amount of wet ingredients, all the other main ingredients can change based on what's in my pantry.

Ingredients

• 3 cups oats (I use old-fashioned.)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup raw, unsalted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• ¼ cup chia seeds
• ¼ cup flaxseed meal* 
• 1/3 cup coconut (I prefer shredded, but sometimes we only have chips. Either will work.)
• 3 tbs brown sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• dried fruit (As much or as little as you want. I use cranberries and chopped apricots.)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (leave the paper a little longer than the cookie sheet. It helps to be able to pick up the corners to move the granola to the center of the pain when stirring it later.)
2. Mix oats, walnuts, pepitas, chia seeds, flaxseed meal, coconut, brown sugar, and spices in a large bowl and set aside.
3. Stir honey and oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat until combined. 
4. Drizzle the honey/oil mixture over the dry ingredients and stir to coat everything.
5. Spread the granola onto the prepared sheet in an even layer and bake for 40 minutes, being sure to stir every 10 minutes. The granola should be golden brown (see before and after pictures, below.)
6. Place the sheet on a wire rack to cool and, once cool, mix in the dried fruit.
7. Store in an airtight container... I have no idea how long it will last because in my house, it's gone within a week.

Before Baking

After Baking

*I don't recommend swapping in flax seeds. Whole flax seeds aren't digestible and if you use them, you'll miss out on all their great nutritional benefits, like omega-3 fatty acids and fiber.