Homemade Granola Crunch

What you need:

6 cups rolled oats ( I use multi-grain)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1-2 cups chopped nuts (I like almonds and walnuts)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup flax seeds (whole or ground)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2-2 cups water
2 cups dried mixed fruit

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Mix all ingredients except the fruit. For non chunky granola, skip to step 3.
2. For granola with chunks, slowly stir mixture in pot over low-medium heat until ingredients become sticky and form clumps (it will be somewhat hard to stir). If you need to add more water, do so.
3. Dump mixture onto 2 large jelly-roll pans, spread evenly. Bake for 1-1 1/2 hours (less time is needed for the granola with no chunks), stirring every 15-20 minutes. Granola will be a golden brown when it is ready.
4. Cool granola by spreading it out on flattened paper grocery bags. Add dried fruit.
Store in an air tight container; it will last several weeks, though ours is always eaten by then.

Preparation Time:

10 minutes, Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes - 1 hour 50 minutes

Cooking Time:

1 hour 15 minutes - 1 hour 50 minutes

Servings:

6-10

Recipe Category:

Granola