Toasted Honey Granola

This granola is a request from Whitney. I have tried the rainbow of different granola recipes. Usually I know the base of what goes in granola and just kind of wing it with what I have on hand. I do have a recipe which I love but it takes a lot of honey and coconut oil, which are both expensive. So that recipe I only make it on occasion, or I will add a bunch more oats, and puffed cereal to stretch it, and to make it a little less sweet. This recipe intrigued me because it only had 2 T of oil and 1/4 C of honey, the other recipe is easily double or triple that. This recipe is from the Cooks Illustrated home cookbook.

A side note on the cookbook. I love this cookbook, I use it as a base for a lot of recipes, they are not the healthiest so I usually do quite a bit of altering, but I like it for a base. The only things I changed were to add coconut oil in place of canola oil, and I added a tsp. of maple flavoring because I like the maple syrup flavor. I also added dried cherries instead of raisins, and I added flax and chia seeds.

The intriguing thing about this recipe is that you toast everything first, which I have never seen in a granola recipe. That gives it a depth of flavor without having to add a lot to it. This granola is not very sweet but Scotty and I both really liked it. Even for his sweet tooth is was sweet enough. Without further ado....here is the granola recipe....

Toasted Honey Granola

1/2 C chopped almonds
1/2 C cashews
2 C oats
1 C shredded coconut
1/4 C sunflower seeds
2 T sesame seeds
2 T golden flax (optional)
2 T chia seeds (optional)
1/4 C honey
2 T coconut oil
1/2 C dried cherries, or any dried fruit that you want! blueberries would be good

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Toast the almonds and cashews first for 3 minutes, or until they start to color. Stir in the coconut and oats and toast for another 2 minutes. Add the sunflower seeds and the sesame seeds and continue toasting for 1 minute or until the mixture is golden brown. Off the heat stir in the flax, chia seeds, coconut oil and honey. Spread over a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes stirring every five minutes or so. Stir in the dried cherries.

Note: this recipe is very easy to adapt. Add other nuts, fruit, maple syrup instead of honey. You could add cinnamon and nutmeg, or just make it how it is.