my sister / friend / sister in law / cousin in law (from here on out will be known as sally) always makes a version of this yummy granola for her family to snack on. if i’m heading out-of-town or if i ask real nice, she makes me a batch and i can seriously just drink it out of the jar. it’s. so. good.

i pin a lot of granola recipes and until the other day have not given it a try. my friend posted a pic of her and her (adorably cute) daughter making a quick and easy banana bread granola, and so, inspired me to get out my oats and make a batch too. i enlisted daani to help pour in the ingredients and stir. her favorite thing to do these days is “mix, mix, mix!” we ended up making this peanut butter granola our first go at it and one, it was so simple to make, i wonder why i waited so long to become a homemade granola girl and two, it was so yum the jar was completely empty in a few days.

yesterday, we had friends come over and thought it would be nice to whip up a new batch. this time around peanuts were a no-no due to food restrictions of our guests so we made this dried fruit and nut version. i think this one is a little healthier too.

i was inspired a recipe that i cannot find for the life of me, but as usual made my own additions and subtractions. so, here’s my recipe.

dried fruit and seed granola

what you’ll need is…

• 4 cups large flake or old-fashioned oats
• a handful of dried cranberries
• 5 medjool dates, chopped
• a handful of pepitas
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• brown sugar

and all you have to do is…

• preheat the oven to 325°. line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• in a large bowl mix together the oats, cranberries, dates, pepitas, chia seeds and cinnamon
• warm the honey and coconut oil on the stove or in the microwave and add it to the mixture.
• mix, mix, mix! until all the ingredients are coated.
• spread out onto the parchment paper in a single layer. press down if you want more of a cluster-type granola.
• bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. times will vary depending on your oven. if you want a loose granola, toss it halfway through.
• remove from oven and let it cool. i prefer clusters so i just leave my granola until it has cooled down and hardened a bit, then break it up into bite size pieces and store in an airtight container.

you can sub in a variety of dried fruits and seeds. imagine chopped apricot, raisins or even one of my newest little pleasure, dried cherries. those are so addictive! you can also sub in wheat germ and flax seeds, or sunflower seeds and shredded coconut. the possibilities are endless! i’m going to try to make a batch every sunday morning so we can have our fill for the week.

what kinds of healthy snacks do you munch on?