Honey Oat Granola

Since my hubby has a great love for granola I asked him to write a little blurb about what he thinks about our homemade granola.........

"The other day I crashed for a few hours to take a nap. I was pretty bushed after waking up at 2 a.m. to catch a flight back home. When I got up, a delicious, mouth-watering, appetite whetting aroma greeted me. As usual, Lindsay had whipped up something yummy to eat, something we've both been craving for awhile. Have you ever smelled granola baking? Honey, oats, nuts, coconut, and butter all toasting in the oven.... I think I need some right now!"

It's me again! My hubby loves this stuff if you can't tell.

This recipe has roots from one of my mother-in-law's granola recipes. We made a few adaptations to it so that it is just the way we like it. It is one of our most favorite things to have for breakfast. We like it with fresh fruit and milk or coconut milk. It also makes a great ice cream topping (vanilla ice cream, blueberries, strawberries, and then sprinkled with granola). The honey, nut, and oat taste is a great way to start the day!

Honey Oat Granola
Printable Version
5 cups quick oats
1 cup regular oats
1 cup powdered milk
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat germ
1 ½-2 cups coconut flakes (I use unsweetened)
1 cup sunflower seeds (or another nut if you don’t like these)
1 cup slivered almonds (more is good if you want more nuttiness)
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 ¼ cup honey
1 cup butter, melted (or vegetable oil/coconut oil, melted - we prefer butter, although I’ve never had it with coconut oil, it just sounded good)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

In a very large mixing bowl mix to combine: oats, powdered milk, brown sugar, flour, wheat germ, coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, almonds, and pecans.

It will look like this

Drizzle melted butter/coconut oil, or vegetable oil over mixture, and mix to incorporate. I like to use a heavy duty wooden spoon for mixing. I also like to use a 2 cup liquid-measuring cup to drizzle the butter in. And since you use the measuring cup for the butter/oil first, when you pour in the honey it will slide out much nicer with a coating of grease. When butter/oil is mixed well, drizzle honey throughout mixture and mix well to incorporate. If you feel you've added lots of extra nuts and it's too dry, add 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup honey. It won't be really wet, just moist looking when mixed well (see picture below).

Moist granola mixture after butter and honey have been mixed in

Divide granola mixture between two 9x13 casserole dishes.

Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Take granola out every 15 minutes and stir it all around. Usually the edges brown first, so make sure to mix those around.

Beautifully, toasted golden brown granola

When finished baking, remove from oven and let cool. Stirring occasionally to help it cool faster. store in an air tight container or gallon-size ziploc bag.

Sever with fresh fruit, and milk/coconut milk. Or use as a ice cream topping (vanilla ice cream, fresh fruit, and topped with a few sprinkles of granola).

Recipe Source: Adapted from Maureen G.