Best Granola You'll Ever Eat

My friend Karin shared her basic granola recipe with me before the holidays, and Bleu and I have been making it ever since. Homemade granola is easy to customize and tastes yummy anytime of day. We are big fans.


Mix in a bowl until all ingredients are covered:


6 cups of oatmeal
1/4 cup olive oil
2T melted butter (you can use more oil instead)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup (we use the local syrup we saw bottled this season)
1/4t salt
1t cinnamon
1t vanilla


Spread out onto a baking pan covered with foil and sprayed with cooking oil. Toast at 350 degrees until brown, stirring every few minutes. For me that's about 20 minutes.


Before cooking my friend adds coconut and pecans. I don't like coconut, so I fill a mini pan with plain granola for Ollie and add chopped almonds and flax seed to a bigger pan for the rest of us. After cooking I divide the granola into three air-tight containers, adding dried cranberries to Buby and Bleu's and dark Ghiradelli mini chips to mine.


I like to add the chips while the granola is still warm so it gets all melty. When I'm craving something sweet I grab a spoon and the chocolate-almond totally hits the spot. The kids will eat theirs on top of Stonyfield low-fat plain yogurt for breakfast or by itself for an afternoon treat. Sometimes I add fresh strawberry and banana slices.