Homemade Maple Granola with Dried Fruits

When I'm working on a banquet, and I'm running behind, I always tell the nervous event supervisor, "Good food always takes time!" It never makes them feel better, but it is true.
The same thing can be said about making granola. To make it right takes a little time, and for me it's a little labor of love.
The wonderful thing about making granola is its versatility with ingredients on hand. I made a batch recently that called for banana chips and dried apples. I thought I had those ingredients on hand, but couldn't find them. No biggie, I increased the raisins and added diced dried apricots, and it was my best batch yet, according to my son Andrew (a recently converted health nut!). I try to make it every now and then for family and a few friends. Here is my most resent version. This is a fairly large batch, good for a family of older people who will eat it. I recommend cutting the recipe in half if you don't want almost 3 quarts of granola. This will store for up to 3-4 weeks in a cool dry area. Any longer than that, well I don't know. It's never lasted me that long!

Homemade Vegan Maple Cinnamon Granola


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup walnuts -- chopped
1/2 cup pecans --chopped
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 cup light brown sugar
pan spray
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 cup dried blueberries
1 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups dried apricots, diced
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 250*F.


Combine oats, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, oil, maple syrup, and brown sugar together in a large bowl. Mix well by hand.


Spray two rimmed sheet pans with Pam or pan coating, and divide granola evenly between two sheet pans. Spread granola out with a spoon into an even layer.



Place trays on a shelf set in the middle of the oven. Bake granola in in 15-minute intervals for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. At every 15 minute interval, mix granola from the outside of the pan towards the center. Spread out in an even layer again, and return to the oven. Set a timer between each stirring. If you think the granola looks like it is getting too dark, too quickly, lower oven temperature to 225*F.

When granola is evenly browned, remove from the oven and cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Spoon cinnamon over granola as evenly as possible. Grate nutmeg over granola evenly.


When granola is cool, scrape the mixture into a very large bowl. Pour dried fruits over the granola and mix gently with 2 spoons, stirring from the bottom of the bowl towards the top. Taste granola, and adjust cinnamon and nutmeg to your taste.



When granola is done, store in ziplock freezer bags in a cool dry area.

Yield:
"11 cups"
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Serving Ideas : Serve with plain or vanilla yogurt. Especially good with thicker Greek-style yogurts. Goes well with warm breakfast cereals.

NOTES : 1) The first time you make granola, expect to spend over 50 dollars on all the ingredients. Buy the freshest nuts and dried fruits you can afford. Every new batch you make will cost less and less as you go along.
2) Trader Joe's has the best dried fruits and nuts on the market, for a good price. Whole Foods has superior products too, but they are a lot more money.
3) Good granola is made with fresh, good ingredients. Poor quality granola is made with stale nuts and old fruits.
4) You can substitute other dried fruits if you like: dried cherries, mangoes, strawberries, dates, apricots, currants. You can also use pecans, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, and whole almonds if you prefer.