When you make granola for the first time, you’ll realize just how stale the stuff is you buy at the store. And because it’s so simple, you might never buy packaged granola again. Granola is an easy formula to riff on. You can play around with different dried fruits, nuts, spices, and sweeteners. Try dried blueberries, coconut, ginger, flax seed, chocolate nibs, pistachios, molasses… Get creative.

RECIPE
2 c rolled oats
1/2 c dried raisins
1 c sliced almonds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4-1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 T butter
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Heat the oven to 400°.
2. Combine the oats, raisins, almonds, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
3. Melt the butter in a pot with the brown sugar and honey. When it comes to a boil add in the vanilla and take off the heat.
4. Pour it over the oat mixture and fold the two together with a rubber spatula.
5. Line a baking sheet with foil. This next part is important: butter the foil, or spray it with non-stick spray! Otherwise, you’ll have to add “foil pieces” to your list of ingredients because it likes to adhere to granola.
6. Bake for 10-20 minutes. After about 7 minutes, turn the granola over carefully with a spatula, so that it toasts evenly. My baking instructor would say, “It is done when it’s GBD. Golden Brown and Delicious.”