Granola

This granola recipe was given to me by my dear friend Cara's mom, Paula.  During Cara's wedding festivities, her mother treated us to delicious yogurt parfaits that included this homemade granola.  Due to my peanut allergies, good granola is hard for me to come by, so this has been a regular staple in my breakfast (and snacks) for 4 years now.  Paula's recipe includes 1/3 cup toasted almonds, but I make mine without the almonds & sometimes add other goodies like raisins or dried apples.

GRANOLA

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/4 cup honey, warmed to liquid

4 T butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and any other ingredients (almonds, raisins, etc.)

In a glass measure, warm honey until it is no longer viscous (about 20 seconds in microwave)

Add melted butter to honey and stir

Drizzle the honey-butter over the dry ingredients and mix to combine

Spread the mixture on a baking sheet

Bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes until granola is golden and crunchy, stirring once

Cook time will depend on your pan and oven

Don't over cook, it will still be gooey, but will dry crunchy (this is the key and takes a little trial & error)

This time I made two batches- one with dried apples & one without