Great Granola!

Anyone like granola?  I made this for my husband and found out that unfortunately, my whole family likes it.  It doesn’t last long!  My basic recipe is from Miserly Moms (I fudged with the proportions and the baking time), and it’s delicious even without all the extra stuff I add.  (Diabetics, beware.  I can’t handle this very well, so I eat teeny portions!)

 

Mix together in a very large bowl:

10 C quick oats

¾ C dried cranberries

¾ C dried apricots, chopped

1 C coconut

1 C toasted wheat germ

½ C flax seed, either whole or ground

1 C sliced almonds

1 C C chopped walnuts

 

Combine in a saucepan, then heat and stir until sugar dissolves:

2 C brown sugar

1 ½  C dry milk

1 C honey

1 ½ tsp salt

1 C frozen apple juice concentrate

 

Pour over dry ingredients and mix well.

Turn into a large pan with sides, such as the bottom of your broiler pan.

Bake @ 350 for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and stir well. Reduce heat to 200 and continue baking for the next 50-60 minutes, stirring well every 10 minutes. It should be evenly and lightly browned.  If you cool it and find that it is not crisp enough, you can put it back in, but don't overbake it. Makes enough to fill 1 1/2 oatmeal canisters. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT lose your grip and dump the entire contents of the pan in the bottom of your gas oven. lol!  Yes, I did this once.

 

Without the nuts, flax seed, and coconut, this recipe is fat free, and still very good!  My mom used to add something she called “wheat berries”, but when I asked for those at our local health food store, what the lady showed me was whole wheat kernels. Mom used something that was small and round (about 1/8"?) and very light and crisp… anyone know what it was??