Years ago, the thought of making my own granola sounded way too crunchy mama to me. (Let’s be honest, eating any kind of granola was too crunchy for me.) After Brian was diagnosed with cancer, I had to rethink my attitude. It was time to learn to DIY in the kitchen.

At the time I was also taking Elizabeth Foss‘ wonderful Restore workshop.  (I wrote about it here.) In one of the lessons she posted her family’s favorite granola recipe. I apprehensively followed the recipe and was surprised to find that it wasn’t that hard, it tasted delicious and the family loved it. Now making granola has become second nature. I have since played around with Elizabeth’s recipe and a number of others ones I found on Pinterest and narrowed down the ingredients and flavors that worked best for our family. The great things about granola is that you can easily add and subtract to suit your tastes.

Ingredients

(Part 1)

• 7 cups of rolled oats
• 1 cup chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup flax seeds
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut

(Part 2)

• 3/4 cups coconut oil, softened
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon

(Part 3: Optional)

• 1 cup of raisins
• 1/2 a cup of dried cranberries.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients.

In a smaller bowl, combine the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir well. Place in a large roasting pan. Bake 45 minutes, stirring the granola every 15 minutes.

When the granola is done pour it onto two cookie sheets. (I tried following other recipes that cooked the granola on cookie trays but it didn’t work as well for me as the roasting pan.)

Next add the raisins and cranberry if using. (I make one tray with the dried fruit and leave one plain.) Let the granola dry and harden for about 1/2 an hour. Eat and enjoy!

Keep the leftover granola stored in an air tight container for up to a week or so. (If it lasts that long.) 😉

* * * * *

Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

2. In your post, link back the original blogger/idea, rather than your Pinterest pin. That way credit goes to the proper person. 🙂 (But feel free to add your Pinterest profile link so we can follow you!)

3. Add a link back here so others can play along.

4. If you want to use it, here is the html code for the logo:

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5. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

The link up will be active for a month. Have fun!

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