Homemade Granola

A few years back I learned that homemade granola is SO much better than the stuff you buy at the store. Have you ever tried making it before? It's actually super easy. 

The other biggest benefit- you know what you're putting in it. So that means, you can flavor it however you like, add extra healthy things and you can also control how much fat and sugar goes in. 

I started out with this Nigella Lawson recipe adapted by Orangette. And have tweaked it a bit on my own. This is what I did this time: 

Dry ingredients:
5 cups rolled oats
3 cups raw almonds
1 cup hulled raw sunflower seeds
¾ cup chia seeds
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt

Wet ingredients:
¾ cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
¼ cup honey
2 Tbsp. canola oil

Preheat the oven to 300°F.
In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Stir to mix well. In a small bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients. Stir to mix well. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones, and stir well. (Sometimes I'm lazy and just throw the wet ingredients on top of the try and have found if you're willing to get your hands a little dirty, you can mix it up just fine without having to dirty another bowl!)
Spread the mixture evenly on two rimmed baking sheets. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until evenly golden brown. Set a timer to go off every ten minutes & stir it around. When it’s ready, remove the pans from the oven, stir well – this will keep it from cooling into a hard, solid sheet – and set aside to cool. The finished granola may still feel slightly soft when it comes out of the oven, but it will crisp as it cools.

Scoop cooled granola into to a large zipper-lock plastic bag or other airtight container. Store in the refrigerator indefinitely.

Also, I love to give granola as gifts! This time, I used these mason jars.