Granola Is Easy to Make, Healthy, and Delicious

Although I've been told making your own homemade granola is incredibly easy, I've really never tried it until recently. Granola is, in fact, really easy to make, and it's a fun activity, too, especially when you're cooped up in the house. It's really hard to mess up (unless you overcook it), and it's delicious as a breakfast cereal, stirred into yogurt, sprinkled on ice cream, used in other recipes, or just eaten out of hand as a snack.

Here's what you'll need for your granola. Feel free to vary the ingredients based on what you and your family like.

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup shredded unsweetened cocounut
• 1 cup raw slivered almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 cup neutral flavored oil, like sunflower or canola
• 1 cup dried cranberries, raisins, or other fruit

Preheat your oven to 300º. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the honey or syrup and oil. Add the oats, salt, almonds, and coconut and mix until thoroughly combined. Do not add the dried fruit yet; you don't want it to burn.

Spread this mixture out onto the prepared baking sheet and put it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and stir the granola to mix things around and even up the cooking. Place the baking sheet back in the oven and cook for another 10 minutes until everything's toasty and golden brown and looks like granola.

After you remove the pan from the oven, mix in the dried fruit and press it into the warm granola with a spatula. This will help create clumps of granola, too. The granola will seem a little wet still but don't worry, it will dry as it cools.

Let the granola cool completely, then break it up into pieces. Pack it in an airtight container to store.