Maple Walnut Granola

 We love granola around here! We eat it as a cereal for breakfast, on top of yogurt… The Man has even been known to just eat it by the handful! I love to make my own granola… first of all, because it’s much less expensive to make my own than buy it, but also because when I make my own, I don’t have to worry about too much sugar or less-than-desirable ingredients. I’ve been on a real granola kick lately, experimenting with different ingredients and flavors. Here is one of our current favorite recipes. It’s pretty easy to make, and only has six ingredients. It’s also really delicious!

 

Maple Walnut Granola

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ cup sunflower oil

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1 cup raisins

Combine the oats, walnuts and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the oil and syrup, then pour over the oat mixture. Mix everything together and spread onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Stir, then pop it back in the oven for another 5 minutes. Stir again, and if it’s still not nice and toasted, pop it back in for another 5 minutes.  I find that 20 minutes total usually does the trick, but since ovens vary, you may need more or less time. Just watch it carefully, to make sure it doesn’t burn.  When it’s all golden and toasty, take it out and let it cool, then mix in the raisins. Store it in an airtight container.  We use quart-size canning jars to store ours. If you’ll eat it soon, store it in a cool, dry place… but if you’ll be keeping it more than a few days you should probably store it in the fridge.

The cool thing about making granola is there really is no wrong way to do it. Here are some other delicious granola additions:

Sunflower seeds

Almonds

Pepitas

Flax meal

Any dried fruit (just add the fruit after baking, for best texture and flavor)

Flaked coconut

Honey

Enjoy!