Make It Yourself: Breakfast Granola

This is a combination of several of my favorite granola recipes that I love.  It's so nice to be able to make a large batch of this and have it in the pantry ready for breakfast or a snack.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup shelled sunflower seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 sesame seeds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup light olive oil
1/2 pure maple syrup
1/2 local honey

1. Mix together oats, cranberries, raisins, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, cinnamon, and ginger.

2. Once mixed, add oil, syrup and honey.

3. Mix very well.

4. Evenly spread onto a large baking pan that is lined with aluminum foil.

5. Bake at 300ºF for 30-40 minutes until it starts to become fragrant and is slightly golden in color. Don't over cook!

6. Let cool for 5 minutes then break off into pieces or crumble.  Store in a airtight container.


I'm not sure if it's cheaper to make granola at home than it is to buy it pre-made at the store but I assume it is.  Even if it isn't, or close to the same price, I enjoy making granola because I can add whatever I want to it (nuts, dried strawberries, etc), or whatever I have extra in the pantry.  I also like that that I can control what type of sugar goes into our cereal.  Of course, this year I've been able to make some with our own maple syrup which has been wonderful and it's so nice to be able to use that and know that we aren't eating granola with high fructose corn syrup.  Not only is is great for our family but a few years ago my mom made several batches of her homemade granola for Christmas presents which I think I may have to do this year.