This recipe is from my mom, but since I made eight batches for the 2016 ORRC Up the Lazy River 10k, I figured I could change the name and she wouldn’t mind. This is a great breakfast or anytime snack, good in milk or nearly any flavor of yogurt. And it’s a relatively healthy way to start your day or get a little power-up during the day.
Dry Ingredients:
- 4 cups uncooked oatmeal (the kind that comes in the big containers)
- 1.5 cups wheat germ (you can usually find it near the oatmeal at the store)
- 1/4 cups powdered milk
- 2 TBSP cinnamon
- 1 TBSP brown sugar
Wet Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 TBSP vanilla
Optional items – 1/2 to 1 cup of each if you like:
- Grated coconut
- Raisins
- Dried blueberries
- Craisins
- Sunflower seeds
- Chopped walnuts
- Chocolate chips or M&Ms
- Other things you like
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- Grease two half-sheet pans (large flat pans with low edges)
- Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
- Mix the wet ingredients in a saucepan and heat it slowly until the honey is thinned and easy to stir.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Add optional ingredients EXCEPT dried fruits and chocolate – these will not hold up well to baking.
- Spread granola over the two pans – it should be a thin layer.
- Bake for a total of 22-30 minutes, checking after 15 minutes to shuffle the granola around on the pans and being sure to move granola from edges of pan to the center. It will smell amazing, but the second it starts to smell a tiny bit burned it needs to come out.
- Transfer from baking pans to other shallow pans (such as two 9 × 13 cake pans).
- Allow to cool completely and stir in any other ingredients such as raisins and chocolate chips.
- Store in an airtight container.