Handcrafted Gifts ~ Fruit and Nut Granola

I like my granola for snacking right out of the bowl. No milk, no yogurt... just eating it with your fingers or a spoon, dry and crunchy. I couldn't find a recipe that was made with natural ingredients, but was still sweet enough to snack on. So I decided to make up my own recipe. After 3 tries and about 8 cups of burnt oats, I think I have finally hit the jackpot. This one turned out rather wonderful and I wanted to share.

Snacking Granola

1. Preheat oven to 300*

2. Combine in a large bowl:

10 cups rolled oats (feel free to mix and match other grains. I used three different mixed grains from my bulk section to get the 10 cups needed)

1 1/2 cups wheat germ

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup raw or halved almonds

1 cup other nuts (the 'pecan pieces' from Trader Joes worked really well.)

3. Stir together in a sauce pan on med/low :

1 1/2 tea salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup honey

1 cup vegetable oil

1 Tbs cinnamon

1 Tbs Vanilla Extract

4. Mix into the dry mixture until completely saturated.

5. Spread into two baking pans (I used 9X13 Pyrex) and Bake at 300* for 40 minutes... stirring frequently (set a timer for every 7 minutes or so).

6. As soon as it starts to look dry, take out of the oven, stir thoroughly, and allow to cool.

7. When it is completely cool, add in:

2 1/2 cups dried fruit (mix and match works best. I used cranberries and golden raisins.)

8. Place in mason jars and give to girlfriends... or whoever you think would love it. :)