Day 1033 | Homemade Granola

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Perhaps you saw my latest recipe post on Mary Catherine's blog, but this granola was just too yummy not to double-post. Plus, I wanted to be able to search for it on my own site for the next round of baking. 

As I said in the Simply Sugarless post, I was really skeptical of attempting a granola recipe. I'm very particular about the granola I like and I was convinced that a no-refined-sugar recipe would never satisfy my picky tastebuds. I'm so happy to report I was wrong. I've been eating this granola for breakfast with a bit of yogurt all week and, I'm going to say it, it's better than any store bought versions I've found - at least it is in terms of what I'm looking for in granola. I will definitely be making this as a staple around our house. Yippee!

HONEY PECAN GRANOLA

Hands-on time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 25-30 minutes | Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 cups

Ingredients: 
4 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 325°. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

  • Mix oats, flour, shredded coconut, pecans, and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Stir in honey, coconut oil, and vanilla extract until evenly incorporated.

  • Spread oat mixture on the prepared baking sheet.

  • Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Stir gently. Continue baking, stirring every 5 minutes, until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

  • Let cool until crispy, about 15 minutes.

  • Store in airtight container.

A Couple of Notes:

  • I left my granola in the oven for an extra few minutes (past 25 minutes) because mine didn’t brown very much. Maybe it was the whole wheat flour, but it still turned out crunchy and delicious even though it stayed light in color.

  • Now that I’ve made this, I would consider mixing some freeze dried strawberries in at the end. I love a little fruit in my granola.

  • I would also increase the amount of pecans, to a half a cup. I don’t really even like pecans all that much, but I think a few extra would only be a good thing.

  • Probably an obvious comment, but you can add/substitute fruit, nuts, etc. as you fit, I would just warn against adding too many dry ingredients because you still need the wet ingredients to coat + bind it together.