This granola recipe is mouthwatering, versatile, and holiday-stress-free. I always look forward to going home so that I can re-stock my dorm room supply of this perfect granola. I like to double to recipe because my family will eat about half of my granola before I go back to school.

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 cups oats

-1/4 cup pepitas 

-1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

-1 1/4 cups raw almonds or pecans or cashews or walnuts (it's so hard to choose!)

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

-1 to 2 tbsp coconut sugar

-1/4 tsp salt

--a handful of dried fruit (I used raisins and goji berries, but dried blueberries work really well.)

-handful of flaked coconut

-1/4 cup equal parts honey and maple syrup

-3 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil

-1 teaspoon good vanilla extract

-holiday spirit!!

How to Make It:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Assemble your ingredients. First, give your nuts a rough chop. Then put the nuts, oats, seeds, dried fruit, cinnamon, salt, and coconut sugar in a large bowl and combine the mixture with a large spoon.

cereal, chocolate
Margaret Ann Riley

Next, melt the coconut oil (either on the stove or in the microwave). Combine the coconut oil, maple syrup, honey, and vanilla in a small bowl. Then pour the coconut oil mixture into your dry ingredients, and stir around until the nuts, oats, etc are coated. 

Dump the granola mixture onto a baking sheet, and spread into an even layer, either with your hands or a spatula. Now the granola is ready to go into the oven.

chocolate
Margaret Ann Riley

After 15 minutes, take the granola out (it will already smell amazing), and sprinkle the coconut atop it. Put it back in the oven for 5-10 minutes, checking often and stirring the granola around so that it doesn't burn. 

Once you take the granola out, let it cool completely before storing it in an air-tight container. And if it's gone before you go back to college, it's okay. Just make more. Enjoy!