Homemade Granola
If you’re looking for a last minute gift this holiday season, you may be able to whip up some homemade granola with what you already have in your kitchen! I sent mine in the mail, so I opted for plastic bags, but it looks great, and stores well in glass jars too. Add it to a gift basket along with your favorite teas and an eco travel mug. The ideas are endless and the recipe is super easy! I used chopped dates and walnuts, but you can add whatever nuts and dried fruit you like.
Coconut Walnut Granola:
9 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1 ½ cups walnuts
1 ½ cups shredded coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
¾ cup honey
¾ cup coconut oil
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups chopped dates
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Warm the coconut oil and honey together in a pyrex bowl, in the oven while it’s heating. Coconut oil hardens at cooler temps and will turn to liquid when warmed. Mix all the other ingredients, except the dried fruit, in a large bowl. When the coconut oil has melted, pour the oil and honey over the other ingredients and mix well. Spread the mixture onto 2 9 X 13 glass baking dishes or onto 2 cookie sheets and bake until golden brown – 30 to 45 minutes depending on what kind of pan you used and how thinly the mixture is spread out over it. Lastly, mix in the dried fruit (save the nuts for after baking if using raw nuts). As it cools, the granola hardens and gets crunchy. Makes about 12 cups. Yum!