Family Favorite Granola

We aren’t big breakfast eaters in our house but we have really come to love some homemade granola.  Eaten on its own or mixed in with yogurt is a real treat!  I was inspired to try making my own after some coworkers had been showing theirs off and telling everyone how delicious it was.  Instead of using their suggested recipes I went out on my own search. (Not that their granola wasn’t great, I just like trying my own thing!)  I got the inspiration for my recipe from Ree Drummond of The Pioneer Woman.  I used the basic steps from her “Granola Bars” recipe and made it my own.  Now that I look back I see that the main similarities are cooking style and the few staple ingredients like rolled oats, butter and brown sugar.  The rest has taken a fun twist as I went to Natural Grocers in the "big city" and got a little crazy with what I could add to the granola to make it tasty.  This recipe is very filling so it is a great one to keep you feeling full for a long time.  If you are looking for a good recipe to try I would suggest giving this a shot!

Favorite Family Granola Bars

Ingredients:

9 Cups rolled oats – or however many you have, just make sure they aren’t quick oats

4 Tablespoons butter, melted
¼ Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2/3 Cup Honey
½ Cup Molasses
3 Tsp Vanilla Extract
¼ Cup Water
1 Cup Wheat Germ
1 Cup Chopped Pecans (We always use more because we have so many)
1/3 Cup Sesame Seeds
½ Cup Sunflower Seeds
½ Cup Dried Cranberries or Blueberries
2 Cups Coconut Flakes

 Ingredients in bold/italics are just suggestions.  Get creative and use more of things you like and less of things you don’t.  Better yet, add any of your favorite things not listed here!

 Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350⁰

Mix the oats, vegetable oil, melted butter and salt together in a large bowl.

Spread the mixture out onto 2 baking sheets and toast in the oven for 15-20 minutes.  Toast until it has taken a light/golden brown color.  Shake the pan a few times (or stir oats with spoon) during baking to make sure they don’t burn.

Remove from the oven and set aside.

Reduce oven heat to 325⁰

In a pan on the stove combine the brown sugar, honey, molasses and water.  Heat the mixture slowly making sure to stir until combined.  Once combined add in the vanilla.

Mix the toasted oats, wheat germ, pecans, sesame and sunflower seeds, cranberries and coconut flakes together.

Mix the sweet/sugary mix into the oats and stir this all together until everything is well coated and gooey.

Press this into a rimmed baking sheet that has been greased well or is lined with tin foil and then greased.

Bake 20-25 minutes until it is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool.  If you want to make granola bars let it cool in the pan and then cut with a sharp knife into desired bar sizes.  If you want to make granola crumble let it cool slightly and remove it from the baking sheet and crumble/crush it with your hands.