Dried Cranberry Oat Granola

I’ve never been a big fan of breakfast cereal.  It’s cold, it gets soggy, and most varieties look, smell, and taste artificial.

But there was one cereal my mom would buy when I was a kid that was different.  She called it granola, but I’ve never been able to remember the name on the box.  We didn’t get it often — she always insisted it was too expensive — but it was the only breakfast cereal I can ever remember really enjoying.

And I’ve been on the hunt for good granola ever since.

Over the years I have tried brand after brand, recipe after recipe, trying to find or make granola like that cereal I remember from my childhood.  Some have been too fruity, lots have been too peanut buttery, and none came close to the flavor and consistency I was looking for.

Until earlier this year when a friend brought some homemade granola to a brunch at our Bible study.  It wasn’t exact, but it was the closest thing to that granola I had tasted since.  She was kind enough to give me the recipe, I did some tweaking, and, lo, and behold, I have a granola that is very similar to the one I remember from my childhood!

I love this stuff.  I eat handfuls of it dry, or with milk poured over it just like cereal.  It would be great, too, sprinkled over yogurt or as a topping for fruit salad.  As soon as I run out of one batch, I’m making another, so this granola has become a regular staple around here.

So I thought I would share.  And let me add that I recently substituted a brown sugar/stevia blend in place of the brown sugar, with great results!

Dried Cranberry Oat Granola

A delicious cinnamon and brown sugar-glazed granola, perfect for topping yogurt and fruit, of just for snacking!

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 40 mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 4 cups regular rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 300°.  
• In a large bowl, stir together oats, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  Warm the coconut oil just to melt and whisk in honey and vanilla extract.  Gently pour over oat mixture and stir to mix, finishing with your hands to ensure all is evenly moistened.

Spread on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Allow to cool in pan on wire rack. Gently break up granola and stir in dried cranberries.

Notes

Change things up a little by using chopped pecans or peanuts in place of the almonds, or try raisins instead of dried cranberries.  Also try stirring in mini chocolate or peanut butter chips, marshmallows, banana chips, or chopped dried pineapple or mango.  

Keyword granola