Homemade Granola

Several months ago, we signed up for a suscription for Bon Appetit magazine. It quickly became one of the things we look forward to receiving in the mail every month; we love it! I'm all about trying out new foods, ingredients, recipes, etc, and this magazine has provided us with tons of new dishes.

Granola has, and always will be, one of my most favorite things in life. It's the perfect snack, but it usually comes with a hefty price tag. Especially the good stuff. You know the hearty bakery style granola with all the fruits and nuts? It's not cheap. Totally worth it, but not wallet friendly. Well, thanks to Bon Appetit, I found a great homemade granola recipe. It's so great that it gained a permanent spot in our kitchen and we will never resort to buying store bought granola ever again. I don't know why I never considered making granola before. I guess I never bothered to look up a recipe. It's really easy, though!

Homemade Granola

In a large bowl, mix:
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a small pan, heat and stir:
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Stir until just combined

Pour the honey/oil mixture over the dry ingredients. Mix well. I find it best to use your hands for this part. Pour the granola onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 300 degrees F for 40 minutes. The granola will come out nice and toasty as seen above.
Important: stir the granola every 10 minutes!

Combine dry fruit in another bowl. This is the fun part! I usually do a mix of dried berries. For this particular granola, I used dried berries, bananas, papaya, and mango. You can add as much or as little of any dried fruit - whatever you're in the mood for!

After the granola has baked for 40 minutes, let it cool and mix in with the dried fruit.

You're all done! This recipe is seriously delicious. The hubs and I both have taken batches to share with coworkers, and they are all about it. Try it out and let me know if you'll ever revert to store bought granola again. :)