Coconutty Granola

I discovered this recipe on the back of my bag of unsweetened organic coconut flakes, which Doug bought for me to use in baking from the Whole Foods. I grew up on sweetened coconut, different than this stuff, but inherently I like this better for baking. It gives structure to my cakes and quick breads, plus it isn't so sweet that I just inhale it straight from the package.




Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup whole wheat flour (and of course, feel free to substitute whatever type of flour doesn't make you sick)

1/4 cup Let's Do..Organic Coconut Flakes

3/4 cup sliced or chopped almonds (may also substitute raisins or chopped dates for some or all of the nuts)

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 cup maple syrup *

1/2 cup safflower or sunflower oil **

1 t. vanilla



Preheat oven to 300F.

Mix oats, flour, coconut, cinnamon and almonds in a medium sized bowl.

Mix maple syrup, oil and vanilla in a separate bowl.

Combine syrup mix with oat mix; stir until evenly coated. Pour onto a greased baking sheet and spread for even coverage.

Bake for 30 minutes. Stir and bake an additional 20-30 minutes depending on preferred level of crispness.



Store in an airtight container, refrigerate or freeze.



*+**: We don't use maple syrup and we don't like sunflower oil. To remedy this, I substituted honey for both items in the named quantities. As a result, the product turned out more like a loose cereal than a product that stuck together. However, we like that, so if you're good with using a spoon or eating straight from the bag with your hands, go for it.

Source: Edward and Sons Trading Co., Inc.
Serving size: Six 1/2 cup servings