Easy Homemade Granola

Don't worry, this recipe has absolutely no pumpkin in it! I'm sure you're faced with a million pumpkin recipes now that it's fall and Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back at Starbucks.  Which by the way, contain NO pumpkin. What the heck?

Nope, no pumpkin here. At least not yet.

For now, you get a yummy, crunchy, and sweet granola recipe.  Homemade granola is great, mostly because you can add whatever you want to it. It can be plain with just rolled oats, or as fancy as adding a bunch of dried fruits and nuts, or you can even make a pumpkin version!  The nice thing about this granola recipe, is that you can use whatever mix-ins you have in your pantry. I didn't have any dried fruit on me, but I had some walnuts and cashews that needed to be used and I added sweetened coconut. I hate raisins, but if you love them and have them, then add them in.

Use this granola in your Cheerios like my husband did, or make a layered parfait with fresh berries and greek yogurt, which is what I did. It's delicious any way you have it.

Easy Homemade Granola

2 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup nuts (I used a combination of almonds, walnuts, and cashews), roughly chopped
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup honey
2 tbs coconut oil, melted
1/2 tbs vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbs water
1/4 cup sweetened coconut
1/4 cup of any other dried fruit (cranberries, golden raisins, dried apricots, etc)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine rolled oats and nuts.  In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar,  honey, coconut oil, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and sea salt.  Whisk together and then add water. Water will allow for proper soaking of the oats with this mixture.

Pour the wet mixture into the rolled oats and mix to combine thoroughly.

Spread out evenly on a large baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes.  Mix the granola around halfway through this time. You want the it to be nice and spread out so the oats crisp up and dehydrate.

Turn heat up to 300 and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Carefully take the granola out of the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

Transfer granola to a mixing bowl and add in coconut and any other dried fruit as you wish and mix around.  Cool granola completely before transferring to a Ziploc or other air-tight container.

Enjoy!