Making your own granola is easy and delicious. Addictively delicious. I can’t tell you how long the shelf life is because we eat it so quickly, especially when there’s a batch of homemade yogurt in the fridge.

Here’s my basic recipe, adapted from others I found.  After the recipe, I’ll give you my favorite add-ins.

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Mix in a large bowl:

• 3 cups rolled oats (NOT quick)
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup nuts (I use almonds)

3. Heat in a small saucepan, stirring a few times, until the sugar dissolves and the  mixture starts bubbling:

• 1/2 cup honey
• 2-3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 cup neutral oil, such as canola oil
• 1/4 cup water or juice (I like orange juice)

4. Once heated, stir in:

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

5. Now pour the hot honey mixture into the oats and stir – make sure to stir all the way down to the bottom so all the oats get coated.  Spread on a non-stick or sprayed cookie sheet and place in the middle or top of the oven for 7 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven, stir, turn the heat down to 225 and bake for 30 more minutes, checking once in a while to make sure it’s not burning (or turn off the oven and leave in for an hour or more).

That’s it!

Variations:

Optional / swappable add-ins to the oat mix in step 2. You will probably want at least some nuts, but don’t feel like you need this long list of ingredients, you don’t!

• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup flax seeds (for healthy granola)
• 1/4 cup wheat germ (for healthy granola)

Optional flavoring in step 4: almond extract, or why not orange?

Baking method: Depending on your ingredients, your baking time might vary. To test, I put a tiny bit in a dish and cool to see if it’s crunchy enough. You want your granola to be dry.  I’ve experimented with a lot of baking methods, sometimes if I don’t have time to watch it, I will bake for an hour at a lower temperature, or if I notice it’s not dry enough after baking, I’ll leave it in a warm but turned-off oven for an hour or so.  You can also bake it at a higher temperature for a shorter time, but you risk burning if you tend to multitask like me.

Type of Granola: If you want a healthier, less sweet granola, you can use more oats (4 cups instead of 3).  If you want a sweeter granola that holds together in big chunks, decrease the oats relative to the other ingredients.