Clumpy Granola

Here is our new favorite granola recipe. I made one batch and it was gone in no time, so I made another batch, but doubled it so Jenna could take some back to school with her. This is great as a snack or with milk for breakfast.

Clumpy Granola
Cookiemadness.net

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds (and whole if you like)
1 cup pecans
1/3 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup( I used cheap pancake syrup)
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Spray a jelly roll pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together the rolled oats, almonds, pecans, coconut and sunflower seeds. Toss in salt and stir to evenly disperse salt.

In a microwave-safe measuring cup, stir together the brown sugar, maple syrup, honey and vegetable oil. Heat on high for 1 minute, then stir to dissolve sugar slightly. Stir in vanilla. Pour hot syrup mixture over granola and stir until evenly coated. Dump oat mixture out onto the two cookie sheets, spreading as evenly as possible and pressing down slightly so that oats are in a thin, closely packed layer

Cover loosely with large pieces of foil. Bake for 1 hour, 1 pan on lower rack and one on upper. When you smell the granola (after about 40 minutes), check it to make sure it’s not browning too much. If it’s covered, it should be fine. Also, the granola on the lower rack will cook quickly, so after 40 minutes, swap racks. After 1 hour, remove the foil. Cook for another 15 minutes or until it is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Granola will crisp as it cools, so don’t worry if all of the granola doesn’t seem crisp after 1 hour and 15 minutes. When cool, break the bigger clumps up into smaller clumps.

This makes a little over 2 1/2 pounds