Snackin' Granola
Why I Love This Recipe
This is my version of a recipe that I found in one of my favorite cookbooks, Whole Grains Everyday by Lorna Sass. I've added a few touches to make it my own. If you are a granola lover, give it a try!
Submitted by: "Paula Spears"
Ingredients You'll Need
2/3 cup dark amber pure maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tblspn pure vanilla bean paste (or extract is fine)
3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
2 tspns ground cinnamon
1 cup walnuts (unsalted)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (shelled and unsalted)
1/4 cup sesame seeds (shelled and unsalted)
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cherries
Directions
Preheat the oven to 225F
Place the maple syrup and coconut oil in a small sauce pan. Bring it up to a boil stirring constantly. Once it's bubbling, turn the heat off and add the vanilla.
Mix is a large bowl the oats, the wheat germ, the nuts and the seeds. The slowly add the syrup mixture to the dry ingredients and stir so all of the oat mixture is coated with the syrup mixture.
On a non-stick cookie sheet (make sure it has a lip around the edges like a hotel pan) spread out the oat mixture. It doesn't have to be in a single layer, just spread it out over the whole pan. Place in the oven to roast for 1.5 hour.
Here's the important part, every 15 or 20 mins, remove the pan (close the oven so as not to lose the heat) and stir the mixture around, turning the bottom to the top etc so that the granola roasts evenly. I set my timer for 20 mins about 4 times and then complete the cooking process.
The granola is delicious just snaking on from the bag. I also love it with yogurt or sometimes eat it like cereal with milk.
