Homemade Granola

At our house, we’ve been making a good bit of homemade granola lately.  We love granola and it’s so expensive to buy in the stores.  Plus, when we make it ourselves, we know exactly what goes into it! 

The other morning, while eating some granola for breakfast, it hit me that a batch of homemade granola would make a great Christmas gift – for friends, family members, neighbors, etc. 

I’ve been trying to take the commercialism out of Christmas for the past several years now; so I’m all about homemade gifts and “gifts from the heart.  You know the ones I’m talking about – the ones that you can tell the giver really put some thought into, whether it was hand-made or picked out just for you. 

And, if commercialism isn’t enough to make you change the way you give gifts, maybe the current state of the economy is.  If finances are demanding you cut back this year, why not consider some homemade gifts? 

Here’s an idea . . . Go out, buy some nice containers and fill them with homemade granola. 

(The container in my picture is part of a set of 3 that I bought at Aldi’s for, I think, $5.99.  But, there are really nice holiday, festive designs available now too.)  Another great container idea is mason jars!  They look especially nice if you add a scrap of material and a ribbon to the lid!

Here’s the recipe we’ve been using for our granola (from our church cookbook), but you can find lots more recipes online (just do a Google search).  I also recently purchased a Fix It & Forget It cookbook, and saw a new slow-cooker granola recipe that I’d like to try (with peanut butter).

Ingredients:

• 4 c. Old-Fashioned oats
• 2 c. All-Bran cereal
• 1/2 c. coconut
• 1 c. chopped nuts of choice (we’ve been using sliced almonds)
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. oil
• 1/3 c. water
• 2 T. vanilla

NOTE: The original recipe calls for 3/4 cup of both the brown sugar and the oil.  We’ve reduced it and it tastes just fine.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and spread into a shallow baking pan.  Bake at 325 for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring frequently.  Cool.  Store in an airtight container.