Homemade Granola

Thought it might be nice to post a recipe on the "lighter" side amidst all the heavy holiday food we're all eating! This is a favorite of ours, and it's adapted from Barefoot Contessa's recipe. I've just added cinnamon & vanilla.

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
• 2 cups sliced almonds
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups dried apricots, small diced
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup dried figs (I leave these out)
• 1 cup roasted, unsalted cashews

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, mix oats, coconut & almonds. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, honey, cinnamon & vanilla. Pour over oat mixture and with a wooden spoon, toss to coat.

Spread mixture on a 13x18 rimmed baking sheet, and bake 25-30 minutes stirring every 5-10 minutes until it turns a nice, even golden brown color. Remove from oven, and let cool, stirring occassionally. Once cool, add dried fruit & cashews, and store in an airtight container. Serve over yogurt, or simply with milk. Enjoy!

Also, makes a lovely gift. I like to give this in old fashioned glass canisters.