{recipe} homemade granola

Welcome to my first attempt at homemade granola.

It is safe to say that I will never be buying the packaged stuff ever again!

You may be asking yourself if it is worth the hassle of making your own granola when 

you can buy a bag of the prepackaged stuff for $4.00 at your local grocery store.

Well, in short, this granola is goooooooooood.

It is slightly sweet, slightly salty, crunchy, and chewy all at once.

Yum & Yummer.

I also love that I know exactly what goes into it. No processed foods here.

So. Just do it.

By the way, don't let the shopping list scare you off! 

I found all of the ingredients for this recipe at Publix, my local supermarket.

Unfortunately, I couldn't check one item off of my shopping list: chia seeds.

Momma had to make a special trip to Whole Foods on her lunch break to buy some more.

Now we can successfully make some more overnight oats.

...which you should top with this:

Granola to face forever and ever.

Homemade Granola

Recipe slightly adapted from the wonderful Oh She Glows.

Ingredients:

Dry:

• 2.5 cups rolled oats (regular, not instant)
• 1 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup raw pecans, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup raw sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp ground flax
• 2 tbsp sweetened coconut flakes
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt

Wet:

• 3-4 tbsp molasses (original recipe called for brown rice syrup. this substituted nicely.)
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp applesauce, unsweetened
• 2 tbsp Smart Balance peanut butter
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

Mix-ins:

• 2/3 cup dried cranberries
• 2/3 cup raisins
• Anything your heart desires! Chocolate chips? Pumpkin seeds? Do it!

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
2. Preheat oven to 300F. 
3. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the wet ingredients. Stir well. Bring to a boil on medium heat and then simmer on low for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. I took it off the heat at around 7 minutes.
4. Add the wet mixture (while still warm) to the dry mixture and stir well. Make sure that all of the dry ingredients are fully combined and coated with the wet ingredients.
5. Spread onto a pan lined with parchment or wax paper and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove the pan from oven every 15 minutes and stir granola for even baking and crispiness.
6. Cool granola for 20-25 minutes in the pan before pouring into a bowl and adding your mix-ins. It will crisp up more as it cools.

This recipe makes about 6 cups and will last for a month in the fridge in an airtight container.

That's what I'm talking about. :)

Add this granola to your favorite Greek yogurt, oatmeal, overnight oats...

....or just eat it plain right out of the container.

That looks like a party bowl full of goodness right there.

xo, Jen