Making Homemade Granola

It is very easy to make homemade granola. Plus, you can alter the recipe to fit your tastebuds and control the quality of the ingredients. This quick and easy recipe is perfect for breakfast, a mid-day snack or a gift to a friend. Many of the ingredients for the homemade granola you already have on hand.

The Ingredients

This recipe is inspired by one of my son’s friend’s parents. We would often take Christian with us on vacation~which was a total joy. His parents made a big batch of granola for us and it’s been a winning recipe ever since.

Oats, nuts, dried fruit, butter, spices, brown sugar, honey and vanilla is all it takes to make this easy recipe.

Some chopping involved

Measure the dry ingredients and chop the pecans. Anyone notice the polished thumbnail in the picture? Yes! I am taking care of my hands and seeing some vast improvement in January.

For nuts I use slivered almonds and pecans. However, you can add any nut you like~walnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts. For dried fruit I use both cranberries and cherries. Did you know cherries are antioxidants and anti-inflammatory, high in Vitamin A, boost exercise recovery, benefit heart health, may help with arthritis symptoms, and improves sleep quality? Lately I am adding dried cherries to everything! For a nice selection of dried cherries, click here.

Mix!

Combine the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Melt the butter and blend with the honey and vanilla.

Pour the honey mixture in with the dry ingredients. Stir to coat evenly.

Bake!

Spread on two cookie sheets. You can either grease the sheets or use parchment paper. Bake in a 220 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until slightly brown. You can stir the mixture half way through the baking process if you want it more evenly browned.

After the granola has cooled, store in an airtight container. This should last about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

You can alter the amount of nuts or dried fruit as much as you want. The butter/honey to oatmeal ratio is the more critical element. For this recipe, I add sunflower seeds, and both cranberries and cherries. For a trail mix, you could add M&Ms, raisins or chocolate chips.

Breakfast is always a bit challenging for me as I don’t have a big appetite in the morning. To see another easy oatmeal based recipe, click here.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and put your own twist on it. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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