Maple Cinnamon Granola

We have noticed recently that a lot of customers are making their own granola. Here is a recipe for you to try. A huge thanks to my good friend Rianne who shared this recipe with me last week (and was happy for me to share it with you). Until then, I had never attempted making granola. It is so yummy! It is great for snacking, having with milk or on top of yogurt or oatmeal. I would like to try it on top of a fruit crisp. What a great start to the day. The prospect of having this for breakfast the first time made me excited to get up in the morning.


Ingredients:
1 c. rolled oats
1/4 c. sliced or chopped almonds
1/2 c. chopped pecans
3 Tbsp. flaxseeds
1/2 c. unsweetened flaked coconut
1/3 c. maple syrup (I did as Rianne suggests: 1/2 syrup and 1/2 honey)
1 Tbsp oil (I used coconut)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
and the fun part to experiment with: 
up to 1 cup of dried fruit (this time I used chopped apricots and golden raisins but you could try dried cranberries, cherries and a whole lot of other things)
other nuts and seeds (this time I added about 1/4 c. pumpkin seeds)
you can also try 1/8-1/4 c. wheat germ


1. Preheat oven to 250°F
2. Combine oats, nuts, flax seeds and coconut. Place on a cookie sheet and toast for 10 minutes
3. Combine syrup, oil, and cinnamon in a small saucepan and warm on med-low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla
4. Take the oat mixture out of the oven and drizzle with liquid. Stir until coated. Spread out and put back in the oven for 40 minutes, or until browned, mixing every 10 minutes.
5. Let cool and add dried fruit


Makes about 4 servings. You may want to at least double the recipe as it will be gone in no time!