Why buy dry, boring granola at the supermarket when you can prepare and bake it at home in a little over and hour, choosing your favorite ingredients, and filling your home with the delicious aromas of baking granola? Visually appealing, crunchy, chewy, sweet and tangy, with the smell of warm spices it engages our senses. Serve it with sliced fresh fruit and milk and/or yogurt for breakfast, or eat it by the handful for a quick, flavorful, nutritious snack. This recipe is intended as a guide. Feel free to substitute your favorite nuts, seeds, or dried fruit, just don’t forget the protein and fiber-rich, cholesterol-lowering oats. How can anything that tastes so delicious to eat be so beneficial to your health? The recipe was handwritten by me in my 40 year old copy of the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen; although I can’t find a granola recipe in the book, I attribute the inspiration for the recipe to Mollie Katzen. Use this recipe to create your own nutritious family granola tradition.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of oats (I use Quaker Oats)

• 1 cup of shredded bakers coconut (sweetened or unsweetened, your choice)

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon allspice

• ¾ cup maple syrup (or honey)

• 1/3 cup canola oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• ½ cup chopped walnuts

• ½ cup chopped or slivered almonds

• 1/3 cup of pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or sunflower seeds

• 1/3 cup chopped Medjool dates

• 1/3 cup raisins

• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

1. Mix all the ingredients except the dried fruits and spread them evenly on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

2. Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

3. Stir in the dried fruits the last 5 minutes of cooking. (Note: if you cook the dried fruit too long, the pieces turn into tooth-breaking little stones in your granola.)

4. Allow the granola to cool on the baking sheet; it will become crunchy as it cools. Once cool, store in a tightly closed container for up to several weeks.