Homemade Granola

What a great snack this is!!  My husband has been on this healthy, yogurt and granola parfait kick lately and I thought I would give homemade a try - so much cheaper than buying it at the store!  And you can add your own mix-ins to make it your way.  I was thinking dried cranberries would be a great addition.  Dried apples, walnuts, almonds, chocolate chips, dates, even pumpkin seeds...I could go on and on.  This turned out really sweet and good, but I think I would've liked it to be a little clumpier.  Like so you can eat it in bite size pieces.  I'll have to try adding a little more liquid (probably the maple syrup) next time.  If you want to add more than one type of nut, I would do 3 cups of oats and 1 cup each of the nuts.  

Makes about 5 cups

4 cups rolled oats (I had the quick cooking kind in my cabinet)

1 cup chopped pecans

3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup 

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  In a large bowl combine the oats, nuts, coconut and brown sugar.  In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup, oil and salt.  Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans.  Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.  

Remove from oven and transfer to a big bowl.  Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed (if adding chocolate chips, I would wait until it cools so they don't melt!).