The Best Granola You Will Ever Have

Things have been crazy around our house this last week and it's been so long since I posted a recipe I thought I'd take a quick moment to share one my family has been gobbling up! 

The past eight weeks I've been taking part in the April Kennedy Mind, Body, Spirit Challenge. I completely admit to slip ups now and then but exploring healthy food options, and dragging my family along with me, has been enlightening. Who knew we'd all hate whole wheat bagels as much as we did? Just kidding, not kidding. Those truly horrible bagels aside, we have embraced a number of new foods including some of the ingredients that went into making this granola.

If you're taking the challenge I'll warn you know it is only a neutral food but it does such a good job of satisfying your sweet tooth you'll be grateful to add it to your recipe repertoire.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp of butter
• 3 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4 c honey OR molasses 
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla paste OR liquid vanilla 

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 c old fashioned oats
• 1 c puffed wheat cereal
• 2 Tbsp flax seeds
• 2 tsp chia seeds
• 1/2 c pepitos OR a chopped nut of your choice
• 1/2 c dried cranberries OR raisins

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a shallow cookie sheet or baking dish with non-stick spray.

Mix salt, soda, oats, cereal, and seeds in a large bowl.

Melt butter, oil, vanilla, honey, and brown sugar. Once it is all completely melted add to dry ingredients making sure everything is coated well. Finally, add the cranberries and transfer all to the baking sheet. I flatten it all out until it is no more than 1/2" deep. Bake for 30 minutes.

When the granola comes out of the oven it will still be soft and gooey. Let it cool for at least 5-10 minutes before breaking it up into pieces.

TIP: I've been breaking it into spatula sized pieces and flipping them over on the baking sheet while they cool. You could use a cooling rack but you'll have a lot falling through the cracks.

Once it is cool to the touch, dig in! Be sure to store the granola in an air-tight container.