Money saving Recipe: Make your own granola

My family loves granola. I keep ours in a clear container in the kitchen where passers-by with an urge to munch can see it. Inside the container is a small measuring cup that I use as a sort of "dipper" for transferring the cereal to a bowl. My 10 year old son is my biggest customer. I'm glad he's just as happy with granola as most kids would be with cookies or chips.

For decades, granola has been my favorite cereal too. But reading the boxes left me disappointed with the sugar content of those commercial brands. And I was no fan of the pricing, either. That's why I've been making my own granola for a while now.

Mixing up my own cereal has lots of advantages. I can buy and add in things without any artificial colorings or preservatives. I get to control how much sugar goes into the mix. I can make "designer" granola with all kinds of healthy things my family likes, like dried cranberries and walnuts. I can mix the spices in a way they prefer (lots of cinnamon and vanilla, please!), and I can control the cost. I can buy a large box of oats for about $1.49 at the "no frills" grocery store where I shop. (A package of raisins costs slightly less.) With just those two ingredients, plus syrup, I can make a LOT of cereal. When I don't have lots of "add ins" on hand, I make a basic recipe and put in what I do have. It still gets eaten in a hurry!

For a bare-bones kind of basic Granola recipe I use:

4 cups rolled (old fashioned) oats
1 cup raisins
1/4-1/2 cup maple syrup or honey (We often use a combination of the two.)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, mix oats and raisins and anything else you'd like to add. (See list below for some of the things we've used.) Set aside. In a small saucepan, thin syrup by heating. Add spices to syrup and pour over the oat mix. Stir well.

Divide granola and spread onto two large cookie sheets. Place in oven. (No need to preheat.) Set oven at 250 F. After 8-10 minutes, turn off heat, but leave granola in the oven for the next hour. (Be absolutely sure to turn oven off. This gentle cooking will give the fruit a nice, chewy texture. Continuing to cook the cereal ruins the dried fruit. If you prefer to bake your oats longer, or at higher temperatures, wait until you bring your oats out of the oven to add the fruit.)

Break up granola and store in an airtight container. That's it!

Depending on what I have in the pantry, I've added the following items to our granola.
Dried cranberries
walnuts
almonds
pecans
wheat germ
sunflower seeds
soybean nuts

We don't usually buy other types of dried fruit, but I'm sure other fruit, especially dried apples would work well, too. Feel free to experiment and make this recipe your own!