Homemade Granola

in Breakfast, Christmas, DIY, Project Pastry Queen

A few weeks ago, Project Pastry Queen made homemade granola. And the first thing I thought was, “I might never have to buy granola from the store again!” And the second thought was, “This would be great in our Christmas baskets.”

Homemade granola takes only minutes to stir together before tossing in the oven, it keeps well for several weeks, and it’s totally customizable with the spices and dried fruits and nuts of your choice. Put it in jars or festive treat bags tied with sparkly ribbons. And you, too, might find that you’ll never buy granola from the store again.

Homemade Granola

Make your own custom homemade granola!

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 8 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds (optional)
  • 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
  • 1 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 cup chopped dried apricots
  • 1 cup dried cherries or cranberries

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325.
  2. In a large saucepan, set over medium heat, combine the oil, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and salt.
  3. Stir until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.
  4. In a large bowl, combine the oats, sunflower seeds, coconut, and almonds.
  5. Pour the warm oil and honey mixtrue into the oat mixture and stir until combined.
  6. Spread the mixture evenly on two baking sheets.
  7. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring several times, until the granola is a deep golden brown.
  8. Cool completely before adding the dried fruit. Store in an airtight container up to 3 weeks.

Notes

Yields: ~5 cups

Adapted from The Pastry Queen

Estimated time: 30 minutes

The 12 Days of Homemade Christmas 2010
Swirly Chocolate-Peppermint Bark Fleur de Sel Caramels Chocolate Crackles Tahitian Vanilla Beans Peppermint Chunk Cookies Red, White, and Green Biscotti
Cranberry Pecan Bread Salted Vanilla Bean Caramel Sauce Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix Homemade Red Wine Vinegar Homemade Granola Homemade Marshmallows

5 comments… add one
  • Great granola mix-up you have here! This is something I’ve been planning to make as Christmas gifts for months now. I have the giant bag of rolled oats, nuts awaiting the roast and a comically large bottle of honey. I can’t decide if I should make several varieties are stick with one, since it’s a gift for several people. Probably just one would be best, huh? Anyways, I agree that once you make homemade granola, you can’t go back to storebought!

    Cheers,

    *Heather*

  • I always like the idea of making my own granola…but have never done it…maybe your post is telling me something…maybe I should finally make it! :))

  • I LOVE homemade granola. So easy and I love how customizable it is. I recently discovered adding steel cut oats into the mix… heavenly.
    http://whatsonmyplate.net/2010/08/24/mandys-granola/

  • What a fabulous idea for Christmas hampers! And kind of healthy too. Yum! 🙂

  • Great homemade granola recipe!!! Great Post and congrats on being named Foodbuzz’s Top 9!!! That is a pretty cool honor!!!

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