Crunchy Granola

This is a great homemade granola recipe that we used at the Cafe'. What drew me to it originally was the fact that the only fat in it was naturally occurring from the walnuts. (no added oil)  It's delicious layered with fruit and yogurt, as a breakfast cereal with milk poured over it, (try zapping it in the microwave with milk for a nice hot cereal treat), or as a quick snack that even the kids will love!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar


• 1/2 cup water


• 2 tsp. vanilla extract


• 1 tsp. salt


• 8 cups rolled oats


• 2 cups chopped walnuts (or nut of your choice)

Directions

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine brown sugar and water in a 4-cup microwave proof glass measuring cup or bowl. Place in microwave on high for 3/5 minutes (depending on your microwave) and cook until sugar is completely dissolved.  Remove from microwave, add vanilla extract and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, nuts, and brown sugar syrup mixture. Stir until thoroughly mixed.  This is the part where Jacks little hands really come in handy....;)

Seriously, kids love to help make Granola!

Spread the granola onto cookie sheets and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour or until golden and crunchy.

When the mixture comes out of the oven, it is still very pliable. You may choose to add in dried fruit as a finishing touch at this time. When granola has cooled completely, store in an airtight container.  We also divided much of this up into small lunch baggies for dh to grab and take with him to work in the mornings.  Makes 10 cups.

My Notes : You can also adjust your baking time to your desired crunchiness/color.

Recipe adapted from~ Kathleen Daelemans (food network)

Jack and I are going to experiment with this in the near future, maybe increasing the amount of syrup so we can shape these into a granola bar that we can dip in Chocolate!  Did I tell you Jack loves Chocolate just about as much as any woman I've ever come across?  :)