Road to Steeple Squigs Granola

In case you haven't noticed, I've been super into granola lately. It started last year when I noticed that it is pretty tough to find good granola at the grocery store that isn't super expensive or full of filler ingredients and processed sugars (the sugar coming from dried fruits doesn't count as far as I'm concerned). So I decided why not just make my own! Turns out it was a huge success and every time I made a batch it would disappear in a matter of days.

Over the summer I started playing with different combinations of ingredients and using my boyfriend and teammates as taste testers. They didn't mind.

Now I've got it down. And I'm ready to share it with you guys! 

The reason I want to share the recipe and not keep it a secret, is because while eventually I would like to get to the point where I can sell my granola, I really just want to promote making your own food. While sometimes it is definitely necessary and convenient, generally the less you buy pre-prepared at the store the better. Anyways, I can't make granola for the whole world!

RECIPE

Ingredients

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cups chopped raw nuts- I usually use 1/2 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup almonds, and 1/2 cup cashews, but try pistachios, pecans, brazil nuts, peanuts, or hazelnuts 

1/2 cup raw seeds- I like pumpkin seeds and chia seeds, but have also tried sunflower seeds and flax seeds

1/2 cup coconut flakes (unsweetened)

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup maple syrup

directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

3. Melt the coconut oil in a pan or in the microwave and add the maple syrup.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix completely.

5. Spread the mixture out pretty thickly on a baking sheet and place in the oven.

6. Stir at 15 and 25 min. At that point, check every 5 minutes and make sure it is not burning. Take it out when it is sufficiently toasty and allow it to cool (if you can help yourself).

Warning: it goes from "mmmm not quite there" to "shoot, now it's burnt!" preeeetty quickly. Keep an eye on it!