Granola

Before we begin...I will give a rough estimate of the measurements for the ingredients below but honestly...granola for me is never precise. Sometimes I add more nuts, less raisins, sometimes more nutmeg, less cinnamon. It all depends on what you are in the mood for. You can also change all of the measurements depending on how much you are making. Make it your own and have fun with it!

• 2 cups old fashioned oats (raw, not cooked)
• a couple or few squeezes of honey, roughly a heaping 1/3 cup
• sprinkle or 2 of salt
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, more or less depending on how much you like cinnamon
• a few sprinkles of any other spice you think would taste good, like nutmeg, cloves, cardamom...ect.
• A half of one stick of unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp. of vanilla extract or another extract that would go well, like maple or almond extract.
• 1/3 cup of any add-in you think would taste good. Like...coconut, pretty much any type of nut (walnuts, almonds, pecans), sunflower seeds, cranberries or raisins (just make sure you are adding these raw, after the granola comes out of the oven. In my experience these burn to a crisp if they are put into an oven. I also think they taste the best raw.), chocolate chips or chunks. Have fun with this part!

1. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix oats, honey, salt, spices, melted butter, extract and all of the add-ins except for raisins and cranberries. Mix everything together.
3. Grab a cookie sheet and put a sheet of parchment paper on top. Pour the granola onto the sheet and spread out to a flat layer.
4. Put into the oven and bake for about 10 mins.
5. Pull out and stir the granola/mix it up on the sheet.
6. Put back into the oven for another 10 minutes.
7. Once it is fragrant and a golden brown color, it is done and can be removed from the oven.
8. Add the raisins or cranberries. Put into a container with a sealed lid. This is great on top of yogurt or as a cereal with some milk or cream.