SRC:Brown Sugar Granola

For this month’s secret recipe club swap, I was assigned Finding Joy in My Kitchen.  “SnoWhite” is a doctor by day and cook by night.  She started cooking as a hobby during graduate school mainly as a way to maintain her food allergy and since then it’s turned into so much more.  Her love of cooking started way before school; her mom and grandmothers all enjoyed cooking and were very good at what they did.  They have played a roll in her joy of cooking and are an inspiration to her while in the kitchen.

After browsing through a multitude of recipes, I finally decided on this recipe for brown sugar granola.  We’ve been on a granola kick lately and this seemed like it would be perfect for fall!  Another reason I decided on granola, is because my little man ALWAYS wants a snack after school and I’ve been looking for more healthy alternatives to give him for the ride home.  What’s better than granola?  Plus, he loves it.  It’s a win win; it’s healthy, tastes good and he enjoys it! 

This granola is packed full of flavor and the brown sugar and cinnamon flavors truly do remind me of all the goodness of fall.  Granola is perfect as a snack, but it’s also great in cereal, on yogurt, applesauce, pearsauce, ice cream and so on.  There are so many things that you can do with granola, the options are endless, the only limit is your imagination!  I love homemade granola because you get to control the ingredients and customize it to your tastes; the options and add-ins are endless!

Brown Sugar Granola

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 + 2 Tbsp brown sugar  
3 Tbsp water
1/2 Tsp roasted Siagon cinnamon
2 Cups oats
3 Tbsp flax seeds
1 Cup pecans, roughly chopped
1 Cup raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Place butter, brown sugar, and water in a small saucepan over low-medium heat.  Stir to dissolve sugar, once sugar has dissolved allow mixture to simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Once the mixture has simmered remove from heat.

Meanwhile, place oats, flax seeds, and pecans in a bowl and stir to combine.  Add the cinnamon and stir.  Once the brown sugar and butter have simmered, pour over the oats and stir to coat completely. 

Transfer granola to prepared baking sheet and spread evenly.  Place in preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven, stir and return to oven for 5 more minutes.  Turn oven off, remove granola and stir and return to oven.  Allow granola to sit in cooling oven for an additional 20-30 minutes and stir every 5-8 minutes, ensuring it doesn’t get too brown.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.  Add raisins, stir and transfer to airtight containers.

Recipe source: adapted from Finding Joy inMy Kitchen