GRANOLA

I've made multiple variations of Granola; mainly because I use whatever ingredients I happen to have in my pantry at the time and never work from a recipe. Each time I make it, I try to use different combinations of sweeteners and oats in an effort to create crunchy, slightly sweet, clumps of granola. After a few years of experimenting, I finally found the perfect pairing of ingredients.

Try it as a snack, in a bowl with milk or as a topping for a yogurt parfait.

Granola

1-18 oz container old fashioned oats (not quick oats)
7 oz (1/2 bag) sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup ground flaxseed meal
2 t cinnamon
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup real maple syrup
1 cup dried cranberries, blueberries, cherries or diced apricots (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of an 18"x 13" cookie sheet. Make sure the paper overlaps all sides of the cookie sheet by at least 4 inches.

In a large bowl combine oats, coconut, almonds and flaxseed meal.

In another bowl add oil, applesauce, maple syrup and cinnamon. Whisk until well blended. Pour the liquid mixture on top of the oats and fold until oats are evenly coated.

Pour mixture out on to parchment paper, spreading in an even layer covering the entire cookie sheet. Bake for one hour, stirring every 20 minutes so that granola gets evenly toasted and does not burn.

Remove granola from the oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet. Once cooled, use parchment paper as a funnel to transfer granola to a bowl and stir in dried fruit or to transfer to a storage container.