easy homemade granola

I don't know about you guys, but a LOT of granola gets eaten at our house. Whether sprinkled on greek yogurt with some fruit for breakfast, grabbed by the handful when the afternoon munchies hit, or served atop a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert, we like granola. We like granola a lot. But unlucky for us, most cheaper granola options at the grocery store come with way too much sugar (I'm talking 20+ grams per serving). Since unfortunately/fortunately (the jury's still out on this one) stumbling upon the Food, Inc documentary this winter on Netflix, Alex and I have tried to put the kibosh on excess sugar, so those are a no go. I have found some delicious and lower-sugar products (holy moly, Love Crunch's Apple Crumble - yum!), but I've been determined lately to start making my own. Enter this amazing recipe I found on a pair & a spare, a favorite of mine on bloglovin. 

I hope y'all enjoy it as much as I do!

Easy Granola (recipe adapted from a pair & a share)

Ingredients: 

3 cups of raw nuts (I used walnuts, almonds, and pecans, because that's what I most often have in my pantry)

*1 cup unsweetened, dried apricots (try Trader Joes for unsweetened)

*1/2 cup unsweetened, dried cranberries or other dried fruit (try Trader Joes for unsweetened)

3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons honey

1-2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

*you can certainly use sweetened dried fruit but that significantly ups the sugar content

What To Do:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Chop up the nuts to where they're about gravel-size

3. Chop up the dried fruit.

4. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. 

5. Add in honey and coconut oil and mix.

6. Spread the mixture out on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

7. Bake for 10-15 minutes until slightly golden on top.

8. Remove from oven and toss the mixture a bit to get non-golden pieces on top.

9. Return to oven for another 5-10 mintues, or until top of mixture is lightly golden.

10. Remove and let sit to cool.

As the granola cools, it will become more and more crunchy - don't freak out if its a little moist when you take it out of the oven! 

Happy snacking!