....is Granola & Yogurt

There's a lot of premade Granola out there, in addition to the first 3/5 ingredients being types of sugar I can't pronounce half of the ingredients listed on the nutrition label. What is thiamine hydrochloride, niacinamide, d-calcium pantothenate or pyridoxine hydrochloride? (Google tells me they're vitamins but they don't sound like they would taste very good.)

I set out to make my own granola with just a few basic ingredients. I've started to keep an assortment of nuts and dried berries in the pantry to easily create a weeks' worth (or more!) of granola at a time. It's made for a quick snack or an easy breakfast. My new favorite breakfast is granola mixed into plain greek yogurt with some fresh blueberries and figs & a drizzle of honey.

1-1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flake or shaved coconut
1 cup almonds
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or other dried fruit)
1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/3 cup maple syrup (or honey)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 275.
Mix the oats, coconut, nuts, fruit & spices together in a large bowl. Pour oil, syrup & vanilla over the dry ingredients and mix well.
Spread the mixture evenly onto a baking sheet and bake for 40-60 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes. The coconut oil will help this granola crisp up nicely but be sure to watch it carefully as it browns quickly. Once the granola is visibly browned (about 23 minutes for me), remove from the oven and scoop into a bowl to let it cool. Place in a container that has an air-tight seal and it should keep for a few weeks.

Serve over yogurt with fresh fruit and a drizzle of honey or eat by the handful (once it's cooled).

Happy Baking!