Tasty Tuesday - Addicting Granola

Welcome back to another Tasty Tuesday. Today I am sharing with you my favorite granola recipe. After I made it for the first time it became my "go to" snack. I always have a batch in the fridge. I keep it in an airtight container in the fridge and it seems to last quite a while.

The recipe calls for making the granola into cluster balls but I just put it in a pan and break it up once it's completely cooled. I got the recipe from One Good Thing By Jillee. I find a lot of use things on this site so it is really worth checking out. A friend of mine adds milk and heats it up for breakfast. I just pop a few pieces anytime I want a "little something" to snack on.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 lb quick oats
• 3 cups coarsely chopped raw nuts and/or seeds 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups dried fruit 
• 1 cup, packed brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Optional: chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, coffee grinder or blender, grind half the oats to a fine powder (this apparently is KEY when making clusters! Helps make the granola hold together better).

In a large bowl, combine the whole oats, ground oats, nuts, spices, and dried fruit.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the brown sugar, butter, maple syrup, honey and water and heat until the mixture starts to bubble. Stir in the salt and vanilla. Pour this over the oats and nuts, stirring well to coat. Let stand for about ten minutes. 

Spread the mixture out on a large baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completed. Gently breaking up the mixture into small-to-medium sized clumps.

Enjoy!

Joyce