Homemade Granola

I love granola, any kind of granola.  And a box of granola will not last long around my house.  So here is a recipe that I use to make 6 cups of yummy granola that is a lot friendlier on the bank account.  The nice thing about making my own granola is that I know exactly what goes in it and I get to decide how sweet it is and what add-ins I like.  Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

5 cups of Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1 cup of Sweetened Flaked Coconut
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Applesauce
1/4 cup White Sugar
1/4 to 3/4 cup Coconut Palm Sugar or Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
nuts and dried fruit (optional)
oil

Line a jelly roll pan with foil and oil. Set Aside.  In a large mixing bowl, combine oats and coconut. Set Aside.
In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup oil, applesauce, sugars, cinnamon, ginger and salt.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Continue to cook until the oil is no longer separated from the rest of the ingredients.
Pour oil and applesauce mixture over the oats and coconut and mix thoroughly.  Spread the mixture evenly in lined jelly roll pan.  Bake a 350 degrees for25-30 minutes.  Stir once while baking.  Remove from oven and lower heat to 170 degrees.  Let the granola cool down while the oven heat is being reduced.  Place pan of granola back into the oven and bake.  Stirring every 10 to 15 minutes until granola is no longer soft.  This will take 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Let cool and add in any other ingredients you might like such as toasted almonds or dried cherries. Then  place in an airtight container.

You can eat this alone as a cereal, with yogurt and fruit or use it as a crumbly topping for a coffee cake. It is very versatile.

Enjoy!

Deloris