fruit & nut granola

I tried. Jumped onto and quickly leapt off the greek yogurt bandwagon. And I really must be missing something because it's thick, sour creamish taste and texture quickly ranked right up there in the "I'll do a lot of things but not that" category.

Then. I tried this Fruit & Nut Granola. The clouds parted and I swear I heard a hallelujah chorus.



So freaking delicious that I had to hide it from everyone else. Deep in the nooks and crannies and scary corners of our pantry.

I now eagerly consume greek yogurt and purchase the ingredients in bulk.

Fruit & Nut Granola

1 cup roasted sunflower seeds

1 cup shredded coconut

2 cups old fashion oats

1-1 1/2 cup slivered almonds

handful of cup dried cranberries (about 3/4 - 1cup)
toss in other dried fruit. I add chopped apricots and diced dried plums

nonstick cooking spray

2/3 cup honey

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

pinch of salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 300F. All all of the nuts and coconut and heat until it very lightly browns. (Usually when I begin to smell the nuts.) Remove from the oven, cool and add to a large bowl.

In a small saucepan, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter and salt over medium heat. Cook and stir until the brown sugar  dissolves. Allow to cool a bit.

Pour the liquid mixture over the oat mixture and stir until combined. Spread the mixture onto the generously sprayed baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove from the oven and sprinkle the cranberries on to of the granola. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until it turns toasty brown. Let cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.