Granola Your Way

• 1/3 to 1/2 c vegetable oil, coconut oil, light olive oil, or butter
• 1/3 to 1/2 c brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar (use the lesser amount if using agave or honey*)
• Vanilla (1 tsp), cinnamon (1 tsp), ginger (1/2 tsp), or cardamom (1/4 tsp)
• 4 c flaked grains, such as oatmeal, Kamut, spelt, and/or rye
• Flaked unsweetened coconut (1/3 c), wheat germ (3T), nutritional yeast (2T), flaxseeds (2T), or chia seeds (2T)
• 2 c chopped nuts and seeds, such as walnuts, almonds, pecans, shelled sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or sesame seeds
• 1 c chopped dried fruit, such as apples, pears, peaches, plums, cranberries, currants, raisins, and/or cherries

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter (if using oil, warm it) and add your sweetener of choice along with vanilla, cinnamon or other spices you're using.

2. In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients, except dried fruit. Pour the warmed butter or oil and sweetener over the mixture and mix with a large spoon or spatula.

3. Transfer the mixture to a large baking sheet and spread out. Bake until evenly browned, 20 to 25 minutes, stopping halfway through to stir the ingredients. Remove from oven, add dried fruit, and toss to combine. Let cool completely on the baking sheet, then store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to three weeks.

*If using honey, you don't need to heat the oil in Step 1. Just whisk the oil together with the vanilla or cinnamon and pour it over the flakes, nuts, and extras, and toss and bake as directed. When you remove the granola from the oven, add the dried fruit and drizzle the honey over it while still warm. Toss to coat, and cool and store as directed. (Note that honey will produce a sticky granola that clumps together.)

VERDICT: I used vegetable oil, agave syrup, vanilla and cardamom, oats, wheat bran, walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, apricots, and dried cherries. I have yet to try it with yogurt or milk, but am so far unimpressed. It's weirdly dusty in flavor and texture. It got a little overcooked even at the low end of the time range, which doesn't help. It's nice that the recipe is so flexible, but unless I really needed to make granola and had to patch it together with the ingredients I had on hand, I'd skip it. Toss.