Almond Granola

This recipe comes from Alton Brown on Good Eats. I told my husband that I tried a new granola recipe. To which he replied, "isn't granola just granola?" Then I gave him a bowl of this wonderful mix with some milk. He then said, "You're right. This granola IS the best I've ever eaten." Trust me. If you stick to the recipe then this will turn out better than any store boughten granola.

Also, if you don't usually keep maple syrup on hand, or almonds, then you might think this is a really expensive recipe. I like to buy maple syrup and almonds at Sam's Club. Pound for pound this recipe is cheaper than store bought granola. Plus it is healthier! We eat granola at least 3 times a week for breakfast and even more often for snacks.

One more thing about this recipe. I tried doubling the recipe (using 6 cups oats) and I found that it worked great except I had to add an extra 20 minutes to the cooking time in order to get the right texture.

In a very large mixing bowl dump and mix with 2 wood spoons:

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup cashews
3/4 cup coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 T brown sugar

In a small bowl add and mix:

1/4 cup plus 2 T pure maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 tsp salt

Pour the wet mixture over the oat mixture. Toss with the two large wooden spoons until all oats are wet. Spread the mixture evenly onto two rimmed cookie sheets. Bake at 250 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Take the sheets out every 20 minutes and stir with wooden spoon and then return to hot oven.

Serve with dried fruit. I used dry blueberries.