Kitchen Sink Granola

Can I be honest with you?  I know a few weeks ago I said that I've been eating my overnight oats every day for years and that I'm not sick of them.  Well, I don't know if it's that I'm eating my oats at home vs. at work while focused on other things, but I've gotten a little tired of the same overnight oats every morning.  So rather than eating a different breakfast, I thought to myself - what would shake things up and make it a little more interesting?

And that's where this granola came from.  I've never made granola before, but this granola is seriously AMAZING.  I called it kitchen sink granola, but in reality, it was pantry raid granola.  I went through my pantry and found ingredients I didn't even know I had.  But guess what?  They were the perfect granola ingredients, so it all worked out!

This granola not only has your classic oats and honey, but also has dried blueberries, shaved coconut, shaved almonds, vanilla, cinnamon & nutmeg.

Servings: 10+
Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:
3 cups oats
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup shaved, unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup dried blueberries
2 tbs brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbs coconut oil
Optional: sprinkle of cinnamon & nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 300° F
2. Combine dry ingredients - oats, almonds, coconut, berries, sugar, and spices in one bowl
3. Combine wet ingredients - honey, vanilla, and coconut oil until thoroughly mixed
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.  I started mixing with a spoon, but ended up going in with my hands because it was easier to incorporate and feel where there were dry/wet sections.
5. Pour the mixture on a baking sheet and press down with your body weight to ensure the mixture will stay together.  You'd mix probably won't cover the entire baking sheet, so push it away from the edges and continue to press the mixture down until firm.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the tray and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes.  You should take the mixture out once it's golden brown on top.
7. Let mixture cool to room temp before breaking up the granola (approx 35-45 minutes).  This will allow it to harden and give you chunks of granola rather than loose pieces.

You can eat this granola alone as a snack or dessert, or you can top smoothies and oatmeal with it.  I caught my husband a few times a day going in to grab a handful (or multiple) of this granola.  It's a great mix of sweetness and spice and has a subtle toasted coconut flavor from the coconut oil & flakes.  This recipe is super easy to change up - just keep the basic binders the same and add whatever you can find in your pantry (within reason of course) and it should come out great!

Put all your dry ingredients in a bowl and mix.

 Mix your wet ingredients in a small bowl.

Mix the wet in with the dry.

Pour the ingredients on an oiled baking tray and pat down until firm.

You won't have enough to cover the entire baking sheet, so you can push some away from the edges of the pan.

Bake until golden brown on top, turning half way through.  The total time should take between 35 and 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cook to room temperature before cutting.  I can't stress this enough.  If you cut right away, the granola won't be fully hardened and you won't get nice chunks.  

So be patient and pretend like your kitchen doesn't smell like roasty honey goodness while your granola cools.  Otherwise, you won't get the perfect bite pictured below.

I loved how I got chunks of granola along with loose pieces.  I really wanted some small clusters to snack on and to top my oats with.  I'm definitely going to need to make some more of this soon because it did not last nearly as long as I thought it would!

Happy baking 😊