Apple Cinnamon Granola

You’ll never buy granola again after you make this recipe, I promise. I never realized how easy it was to make granola and seriously, all it takes is five minutes to throw the ingredients together and about 25 minutes of baking. Even the most inept cook can do it.

A blend of crunch and sweetness, this granola works as a healthy breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack. I made it as a holiday gift for the fiancé’s  mom and she said it was better than any fancy, organic granola she’s bought in the grocery store.

This recipe is also very versatile – you could use whatever nuts or dried fruit you have on hand. In this batch, I didn’t have the dried apples the recipe called for, so I substituted dried cranberries instead and it still turned out delicious.

Apple Cinnamon Granola
From La Dolce Vegan

4 cups rolled oat flakes (I used gluten-free rolled oats)
½ cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
½ cup sesame seeds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup maple syrup
1/3 cup oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dehydrated apple, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the oat flakes, coconut, pecans, sesame seeds, cinnamon and salt. Add the maple syrup, oil and vanilla and stir together until well mixed. On two 9 x 13 inch baking pans, spread out even amounts of the mixture on both pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Let granola cool before stirring in dried apples. Store in an airtight container. Makes approx. eight cups.