Crunchy Granola

Submitted by Chef #670703

"I used several different recipes to come up with this one. I think it has the perfect balance of healthy ingredients and yummy crunchy sweetness. I use it both as cereal with milk or yogurt and as a mid-day snack. This makes a HUGE batch (I always give some away to friends and family). Half it for a more reasonable sized batch."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 17
• Yields: 1/2 Cup
• Serves: 20

ingredients

• 7 cups rolled oats
• 1⁄2 cup flax seed
• 1 cup sesame seeds
• 1 cup brown sugar (not packed)
• 2 cups coconut
• 2 cups raw almonds
• 1 cup unsalted cashews
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 8 tablespoons butter (1 cup canola oil can be used as Vegan Substitute)
• 1⁄2 cup honey
• 3⁄4 cup sorghum
• 1⁄2 cup canola oil
• 6 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 15 dried figs, chopped
• 2 cups raisins or 2 cups dried cranberries

directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a very large bowl (oats, seeds, brown sugar, coconut, almonds, cashews, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg).
3. In a saucepan melt butter.
4. Once butter is melted, add honey, sorghum and canola oil and vanilla and stir for several minutes over very low heat until ingredients are somewhat combined (they will still be rather separate.
5. Poor the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and stir vigorously until all of the dry mixture is well coated.
6. Spray three cookie sheets with non-stick cooking spray.
7. Spread a 1/4-1/2 inch layer of the granola on each cooking sheet (this should fit exactly).
8. Bake the oat mixture for 30 minutes without stirring.
9. Allow to cool completely then break in to desired sized pieces.
10. Mix in the "extra" (dried fruit) ingredients.
11. Store in an airtight container.