Dried Fruit and Pumpkin Seed Granola

Thanksgiving

New Prairie Kitchen author Summer Miller points to this recipe as one of her husband's favorites. This easy-to-make granola will fill your kitchen with the sweet, comforting scents of cinnamon and honey. Total baking time is 35 to 40 minutes, so stay close and stir every 10 minutes. Enjoy on its own, with milk or sprinkled on yogurt.

March 31, 2016

Ingredients

7 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey cup
1/3 cup safflower oil, plus more to oil your hands
¼ cup maple syrup
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

Makes about 3½ pounds

Preheat oven to 325º. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the oats in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, honey, oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt. Pour this mixture over the oats. Oil your hands and start mixing everything together. Make sure all the oats are coated.

Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Stir the granola and bake for another 10 minutes. Stir in the pecans and pumpkin seeds and bake for another 10 minutes. Stir the granola and bake for 5 to 10 more minutes. The color should be golden. If it’s not, stir and continue to bake, 10 minutes at a time, until it is.

Remove the granola from the oven. Let cool completely before mixing and adding in the raisins and cranberries. This simple snack will store well in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Note: If your baking sheet isn’t large enough, split the batch between 2 sheets and rotate them top to bottom in the oven every time you stir the granola. You want the granola to be dry and crunchy once it cools, not chewy.