Almond & Cranberry Granola
Making granola at home is an easy and delicious thing to do - here's a simple recipe with whole oats, almonds, dried cranberries, cinnamon and maple syrup, with a hint of orange.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 4 c. Whole oats
- 1 c. Whole, raw almonds, roughly chopped
- 1/2 c. Vegetable oil alt: olive oil
- 1/4 c. Pure maple syrup
- 2 Tb. Honey
- 1 tsp. Pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp. Kosher or sea salt
- 1 tsp. Ground cinnamon
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 c. Dried cranberries
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add oats and chopped almonds to a large mixing bowl.
- In a small saucepan, add oil, maple syrup, honey, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, orange zest. Warm over low heat for about 1 minute.
- Pour the warm mixture over the oats/almonds and mix well. Let sit while oven comes to temperature.
- Pour oats mixture onto the baking sheet and pop into oven. After the first 10 minutes, mix with a wooden or metal spoon/spatula. Stir again after another 5 minutes and keep an eye on it, so it doesn't get too dark. When golden brown (after 20-25 minutes), remove from oven.
- Allow granola to cool on the baking sheet 20-30 minutes, then mix in cranberries. When fully cool and very crunchy, transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature or the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks (but, trust me, it won't last that long).
Notes
Note 1: if you store the granola before it's fully dry/cool, the moisture from the dried fruit may soften the granola eventually, making it not as crunchy, but still delicious.
Note 2: if you really like a toasty, rich-flavored granola, simply leave it in the oven a few minutes more :)