Homemade Granola

I've been wanting to make my own granola for some time now, and when I got off work early yesterday I thought I would finally take the time to do it. My mom has been making homemade granola for as long as I can remember and it is so {so so} much better than the stuff you buy in the store! Since my mom was occupied taking my little brother on college visits and couldn't give me her favorite recipe, I decided to do my own search. I ended up adapting a recipe from La Belle Bride. I liked this recipe because unlike most granola, it didn't have any dried fruit {I'm not a huge fan} and it had tons of nuts. The one big change I made to the recipe was substituting some of the honey it called for with sweetened condensed milk, something I remember my mom always doing. I know this granola was a success because when my roommate took a bite she yelled from the other room, "Molly this granola is {effing} awesome!" Hope you enjoy. 

Homemade Granola

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)

1/2 cup dry instant milk

1 cup chopped almonds

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup whole cashews

1 cup unsweetened coconut

1 tbs cinnamon

1 tbs vanilla

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/8 cup peanut butter

Here's How

1. Toast rolled oats for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. 

2. Combine instant milk, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, cashews, and coconut in a medium sized bowl.  

3. Boil vegetable oil, honey, sweetened condense milk, peanut butter, vanilla, and cinnamon in a sauce pan for two minutes until smooth. 

4. Pour wet ingredients over nut mixture and add oats once toasted. Mix well. 

5. Bake granola on a cookie sheet for 1/2 hour at 250 degrees. Turn oven down to 200 degrees and cook for another 2 hours. Allow granola to cool and harden before storing. 

The yummy way I enjoyed my granola this morning!

Tips

If you're on a budget like me, I would recommend buying all of the nuts needed for this recipe in the bulk foods section of the grocery store. Nuts are super expensive {especially pecans which cost $15 per pound!} and contain lots of oils that will spoil, so buying just what you need will save you money and the possibility of biting into a rancid almond three months from now {yuck}.