Cinnamon Vanilla Granola

My family loves to snack. They always have, but I've no longer got a stash of packaged granola bars, fruit snacks, and this and that for them to grab midafternoon when hunger strikes. Our snacks now consist of cheese, fruit, popcorn, and things we make at home.

This week, I came across a fantastic recipe for homemade granola. I've never made granola before--I have several friends who have, but I had always hit the "easy" button and just picked up boxes of it. Of course, now that I realize all the junk that's in those bars, they haven't darkened our doorway in months, but we'd still like to eat it, so I gave this recipe a try.

It was surprisingly delicious, and I felt great giving it to my family and watching them gobble it up, knowing exactly what was in it. I made a single pan of the recipe, but I think next time I will double or maybe even triple the recipe so we can have enough for several snacks.

One thing I loved about this recipe was its flexibility. Amy Green lists specific nuts and seeds to include, but she also says to feel free to substitute them out to suit your tastes. In my case, I substituted a few things, not to suit my tastes, but to suit what actually happened to be in my pantry! Below her recipe, I'll list what I actually put in mine.

One note: Several ingredients listed need to be divided, so read the recipe carefully before throwing everything in.

Cinnamon Vanilla Granola
adapted from the Simply Sugar and Gluten Free cookbook

Ingredients:
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced raw almonds (you could also buy whole almonds and throw them in your food processor to chop them up a bit)
3/4 cup raw pepitas
3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. palm sugar, divided
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, divided
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. honey, divided
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 and line a large, shallow baking pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, almonds, pepitas, sunflower seeds, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, and salt. In a medium sized glass bowl, mix together the oil, 1/4 cup palm sugar, and 2 Tbsp. applesauce. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, then stir. Add 1/4 cup honey and the vanilla, and stir again. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine until evenly coated. Make sure to use a spatula to get every bit of the wet ingredients. Spread evenly into the pan, then bake for 30 minutes.

While it is baking, combine in the glass bowl the remaining 2 Tbsp. of honey, palm sugar, and applesauce. After the granola bakes for 30 minutes, pull it out of the oven, then pour the additional wet ingredients on top. Stir well to mix in the additional wet ingredients well, then press the granola firmly back into the pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes longer. Granola should be lightly brown. Remove from the oven and let the granola cool completely, then break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

My revised list of dry ingredients:
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup almond flour
3/4 cup cashews, broken into pieces
3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. kosher salt