Naturally Sweetened Granola

This recipe for granola has evolved so much over time. A little less honey, a little more maple syrup. A little more cinnamon and salt. More nut varieties, but less dried fruit. Better yet, no dried fruit at all. A tweak here and there documented over time in the Notes app on my phone. It’s a simple enough recipe that I could make it without referencing my notes, except I’ve changed it so much from where it originally was that I want to make sure I follow my own instructions exactly to make the perfect batch. We take our granola very seriously around here.

Matt eats this stuff every morning with a little yogurt. I tend to eat it two or three times per week. He’s a creature of habit, but I like variety. As a result, I don’t often notice right away when the granola is gone, and he’s too polite to say anything until we’ve gone a week or two with an empty jar.

I’m posting this up, my love, so you can make your own batch next time I fail to notice. I’m also posting this because who knows when my phone will fail and I’ll lose the recipe forever. The more copies that are out there, the better.

And speaking of copying recipes, I’ve decided to go ahead and transfer (and update) all of the well-worn and well-loved recipes from my blogspot address to this space. I reference my old blog for those recipes constantly, so I want to make sure I have them here too.  I imagine many of them have changed in various ways throughout the years, just as this one has.

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Naturally Sweetened Granola Recipe

Author: A Wooden Nest

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped nuts (raw)1 cup chopped seeds3 cups rolled oats1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste1/3 cup maple syrup1/4 cup honey3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir until evenly distributed.
3. Place the maple syrup, honey and coconut oil in a saucepan or microwave-safe bowl and heat until the coconut oil has just melted. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.
4. Spread granola evenly on a cookie sheet with sides. Place in preheated oven and bake for ten minutes. Remove from oven, stir, and then bake for another ten minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
5. Remove from oven and stir again (this will help keep the granola from sticking as it cools). Let it cool completely and then store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Notes

Optional add-ins: roasted flax seeds or other roasted seeds, dried coconut, dried fruit, chocolate.