Homemade Granola

Wow! Apparently I haven't posted anything since September. I didn't realize it has been so long. Finally I have a good recipe to share. I've made this a couple times now and its a keeper. I love putting granola on my yogurt, but its a good snack too! And the great thing about this recipe is its versatility. Use whatever you have in your pantry.

Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with Pam. Heat oven to 300F.

In a large bowl, combine the following ingredients:
4 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 cup seeds/nuts (slivered almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc)
1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries, apricots, etc)
1 pinch of salt
1 tbsp of your favourite spice combo (I used pumpkin pie spice, but you could use cinnamon, cloves, ginger)

Combine the following and stir into the above mix:
1/4 cup oil/fat (butter, canola oil or coconut oil)
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp sweetener (brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc)
1 1/2 tsp flavouring (vanilla extract, almond extract, etc)

Spread evenly in pan and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool and break up into pieces and store at room temperature.

*From http://www.trueaimeducation.com/easy-healthy-homemade-granola-recipe/

Breakfast Cookies?!?

If you put enough "healthy" ingredients in these cookies I think you can jusifiably eat them for breakfast. I will at least! This is a modified version of Kim's "Big Chewy Raisin Cookies".

1 1/2 cups cranberries (divided in two)
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup margarine
1 egg
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flax
1 1/4 cup rolled oats (not instant)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut

Pre-heat oven to 275F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets. Set aside.

In blender, combine 1/2 cup of the cranberries with the water and blend until pureed. Mix together the puree, margarine, egg, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth.

In another bowl, stir together the flours, ground flax, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the puree mixture and beat until all the ingredients are evenly mixed. Stir in remaining cranberries and the coconut. You could also add nuts, sunflower seeds, etc. Be creative!

Roll into golf ball sized balls and place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom, but still soft in the middle.