What a pleasure, to start your day with a tummy-filling bowl of delicious whole-grain granola! And it's easy to make your own. Just stir together everything but the dried fruit, and bake until crunchy. Add your favorite fruits once it's cool.
Preheat the oven to 250°F. Lightly grease two large rimmed baking sheets; or line them with parchment.
In a very large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, wheat germ, nuts, and seeds. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, salt, maple syrup, and vanilla.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry mixture in the bowl, stirring and tossing until everything is very well combined.
Spread the granola on the baking sheets, patting it gently to flatten.
Bake the granola for about 90 minutes, stirring the mixture with a heatproof spatula every 15 minutes or so. You want to bring the granola at the edge in towards the middle, so it all browns evenly. Reverse the baking sheets in the oven (top to bottom, bottom to top) each time you stir.
When the granola is a medium golden brown, remove it from the oven and cool completely on the pans.
Transfer the granola to a large bowl, and mix in the dried fruit.
Store the granola in a tightly closed container at room temperature for several weeks; freeze for extended storage. Or portion into pretty patterned plastic bags for gift-giving.
Join King Arthur baking instructor, Libby Treadway and her son as they bake Crunchy Granola together from start to finish. Watch Baking Granola with Kids now.
Substitute an equal amount, by volume, of King Arthur Rolled Oats for the oats in this recipe. They'll add slightly more chew and heartiness (and also more protein!).
Jammy Bits, sweet, soft little morsels of fruit purée, step in nicely for any type of dried fruit. Try raspberry, blueberry, or orange.
