Recipe: Cranberry Walnut Granola

I still have Ocean Spray dried cranberries and walnuts from a previous trip to Costco. A large 10 pound box of oats was on sale last month and I had also bought a bottle of honey from Costco all using their coupons. After getting a bit tired of eating oatmeal everyday, I decided to attempt making my own granola for use in yogurt parfaits after seeing how expensive they are in the local delis.

You can use any type of raw oats but "Instant" just means that the oats were pressed thinner during processing to cook faster. I like "Old Fashioned" style which is thicker and give more crunchy texture to the finished product.

Ingredients

• 3-1/2 cups uncooked oats
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 cup honey (*check out my tip below)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats and walnuts.
3. In a small bowl, combine oil, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well!
4. Pour over the oats & nuts. Mix until oats are totally covered in the honey mixture.
5. Spread mixture evenly on a aluminum foil lined jelly roll pan or on rimmed baking sheet.
6. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes so that granola bakes evenly. Watch to prevent burning!
7. Cool granola completely.
8. Stir in dried cranberries and store in an airtight container.

Since there are no preservatives, the granola can store tightly covered up to 1 week.

Makes about 12 half cups servings.

*TIP I measured the oil first with a tablespoon so that when I measured the honey, it wouldn't stick to the spoon. 8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup liquid