Before I begin, I wanted to announce that Erika was the winner of my Mobile Foodie giveaway contest! Erika, contact me whenever you can with your address and I’ll get it out to you ASAP! By the way, the product was from a site called http://www.foodiekits.com/ or you can also find it on http://uncommongoods.com which is a really fun site that has a lot of well, uncommon goods! I am in no way affiliated with either of these companies, I just thought it was a fun product!
Now for the food!
I recently discovered that not everyone is a granola person. You would think this would be common sense because not everyone likes the same things, but I just thought it was one of those “everyone likes it” foods. You see, this recipe is so tasty, it’s like candy. If only candy were full of nutritious things and tasted this good.
My Aunt Carol was the one that got me into this granola. Therefore, I have named it after her. Just like Aunt Carol’s salad, Aunt Carol’s salad dressing…but those are for another day. When I was interning in NYC, I lived with my Aunt Carol and Uncle. I was only there a few days a week but she always made sure to treat me extra special. Like when she would make her granola, adapted from an Ina Garten recipe. She’d make a fresh batch and then put some in a plastic bag for me so I could munch on some on my bus ride in the morning, accompanied by a hot cup of tea.
I have such warm, cozy memories of this granola that I just had to share!
Aunt Carol’s Granola
You will need:
•4 cups old fashioned oats
•2 cups shredded coconut
•2 tsp cinnamon
•2 cups pecans
•1-1/2 cups dried cranberries
•1/3 cup vegetable oil
•1/3 cup honey
1.) Preheat oven to 350°. Begin by combining oats, coconut, and pecans together in a large bowl.
2.) Pour vegetable oil and honey over the oats. Then add the cinnamon until everything is coated. Once everything is coated, pour onto a sheet pan and put in oven.
3.) Bake for around 30 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes. In the last 10 minutes, add cranberries.
You will know the granola is finished when it is an even toasted brown color throughout. Allow it to cool and store in a dry, airtight container.
You can throw it on yogurt, oatmeal, a smoothie…or in a plastic bag with a cup of hot tea! And while it isn’t candy, I promise it’s so good you won’t want any.
