Granola

Ever since going to New Zealand in 2007 and having the great variety of granola to eat at breakfast, I have been on the hunt for good granola here in the States. I have found one that I like in the organic section of our local grocery store, but I thought I would try making me own. Here's the first try..

Granola

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup vegetable oil*
1/3 cup sliced almonds (1 oz)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup green (hulled) pumpkin seeds, sometimes called pepitas (1 1/2 oz; not roasted) **
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup mild honey
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch salt
1 cup tart dried cherries ***
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup dried pears (1/4-inch dice)
1/2 cup diced dried apricots (1/4 inch dice)
1/3 cup golden raisins

Accompaniment: Sliced bananas; plain yogurt flavored with vanilla extract.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Stir together all ingredients except the fruit in a large bowl until combined. Spread mixture evenly on a large (17-by 12-inch) shallow baking pan**** and bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer granola, in pan, to rack to cool stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Stir in dried fruit.

Granola keeps, frozen (the fruit’s moisture softens granola if not kept frozen) in an airtight container, 1 month.

* I got away with 1/3 cup.
** I accidentally bought the roasted ones – which are by the way, so tasty, can’t stop snacking on them – so I mixed them in just as I took it out of the oven, when the sugars were still melted and they gummed to the granola as if they’d been there the whole time.
*** The store was out of dried cranberries, my favorite, so I substituted cherries. I’m still short a lot of dried fruit, but plan to remedy that soon.
**** Next time I do this, I’m lining it with foil. When the granola came out of the oven, it’s soft and in smaller pieces. When I returned 15 minutes later, it was like one giant, loosely-packed granola bar. This is wonderful as you can break it up into whatever size chunks you like, but bad because it had stuck a bit to the pan, making for an annoying cleanup.