When this was coming out of the oven, I had to yank C’s hand away from the pan. The whole house smelled delicious. This recipe isn’t quite as sweet as some other granolas I’ve tried – and you can always adjust the sweetness based on the amount of syrup you use. I love granola – especially now that my adult braces are off! Here’s to celebrating all things crunchy. My comments are in italics.

Granola
From Jamie’s Food Revolution, Jamie Oliver. 

Makes enough to fill a large jar
2 cups quick cook oatmeal (not instant)
1 heaped cup mixed nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts) I used some leftover toasted walnuts and a handful of sliced almonds
1/4 cup mixed seeds (sunflower, poppy, pumpkin, sesame) I used pepitas and flax seed
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I used the bigger shred)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
11/2 cups dried fruit (raisin, cranberries, apricots)
5 tablespoons maple syrup or honey (I used maple syrup)
5 tablespoons olive oil (I used canola oil – didn’t want the olivy taste in my granola)

To prepare your granola

1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Put your dry granola ingredients ,including the coconut and cinnamon but NOT the dried fruit, on a sheet pan.
3. Stir well and smooth out.
4. Drizzle with maple syrup and a little olive oil and stir again. I combined my canola oil and syrup together in a liquid measure and then drizzled everything over the granola
5. Place the pan in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
6. Every 5 minutes or so, take the granola out and stir it, then smooth it down with a wooden spoon and put it back into the oven. Pay attention to the time – the granola and the coconut can burn if you don’t stir it. Hey – I never said that tasty things are hands off. Sometimes you have to work at it!
7. While it’s toasting, roughly chop up any large dried fruit.
8. When the granola is nice and golden, remove it from the oven, mix in the dried fruit, and let it cool down. I recommend that you taste a small piece each time you stir it – it helps you know when its getting close to done. It may take more than 30 minutes

To serve your granola
Once cooled, serve the granola in individual bowls with some milk or a dollop of natural yogurt. You can keep any leftover granola in an airtight container for about 2 weeks, but its so delicious I’ll be surprised if it lasts that long. C loves it in a little baggie on the way to preschool – maybe a bit messy in the backseat, but I’ll take a little crumb over whining any day of the week. I love it mixed in with greek yogurt, sometimes with strawberry jam, sometimes not. It’s also awesome with milk. If you want to channel your childhood, drink the leftover milk straight out of the bowl for a sweet treat!