Kind of like loaded potatoes, right? Well, sort of. This granola packs in tons of nuts, fruit, and of course I add flax seed to mine. It makes a huge cookie sheet piled high and keeps well for 2 weeks in an air tight container. Ours lasted maybe a week or a week and a half.
I was a bit concerned about the amount of brown sugar in this recipe. I thought it might be too sweet unlike the classic granola I usually make which uses molasses. Not so.
Recipe loosely adapted from and thanks to Food & Wine
Ingredients You'll Need
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 3/4 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup ounces finely grated coconut
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup pistachios, pepitas, or any other nut of your choice
- 1/4 cup flax seed
- 1 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 cups mixed dried fruit- I used apricots and raisins.
1. Preheat oven to 275. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In saucepan combine butter, brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and bring to a simmer. Stir until brown sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly.
2. In a large bowl toss the oats with the coconut, nuts, and flax. Add brown sugar mixture and mix to combine. Spread onto the baking sheet and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes checking and stirring after 30 minutes, then again at an hour, then finally take it out.
3. While it's cooking, pour orange juice over your mixed fruit. Let that hang out for 1 hour.
4. Drain the dried fruit, pressing to extract any liquid. Stir the fruit into the finished granola and bake for 5 minutes. Let cool- the granola will get crunchier as it cools.
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