Oatmeal Cookie Granola

I have been playing around more with my granola recipe and fell upon this combination. It tasted like crumbled oatmeal cookie! Yum!

3 cups gluten free rolled oats (I buy mine here in bulk.)
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raw pecan halves
1/8 cup golden flax seeds
1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 large pinch of salt
(I also threw in a scoop of rice protein powder when I mixed the dry ingredients for extra protein.)

Mix dry ingredients together. Then add in wet ingredients-
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup oil of choice (I like coconut oil or safflower oil. Choose a neutral oil.)
1 tsp vanilla (I buy alcohol free here)



Pour out onto large jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with a lip. Bake at 300 degrees for about 45 minutes. Stir after the first 15 minutes. Stir again 15 more minutes later. Then after that check your mix about ever 5-7 minutes. Watch that it does not cook too fast on the edges. (I mix mine from the edges in so that the middle gets toward the edges and the edges get pushed into the middle.) Ready when it is golden brown.

Pull out and let cool completely before storing in an air tight container. Mix in 1/2 cup or more of raisins before storing. (We didn't wait and just ate ours warm with almond milk over it...mmmmm!)


Makes about 9 half cup servings.

Homemade Granola

We love granola in our house but buying gluten free granola is a challenge. So here is my basic recipe. The beauty of making granola is that there is no wrong way to do it. You can add whatever you like within certain ratios and viola! personalized to your taste.

3 cups gluten free rolled oats (I buy mine here in bulk.)
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raw pecan halves
1/8 cup golden flax seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 large pinch of salt

Mix dry ingredients together. Then add in wet ingredients-
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup oil of choice (I like coconut oil or safflower oil. Choose a neutral oil.)
1 tsp vanilla (I buy alcohol free here)

Mix wet with dry ingredients and spread out onto large cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Stir after fifteen minute intervals.  Take out of oven and let cool on cooling rack. At this point add any dried fruit you desire. I add 1/2 cup of raisins. I don't like my raisins baked with the granola, I think they get a weird off taste to them. Let mixture cool completely and store in an airtight container or zip-top bag. Makes 9 servings (1/2 cup size).

You can add whatever kind of raw unsalted nuts you like and whatever dried fruits you choose. You can also exchange the maple syrup for honey or another sweetener like rice syrup if you like. I plan to try out some other derivations in the future and I can post my results later.