Cori's Incredible Granola

This is my adaptation from the Granola recipe in the Make-A-Mix cookbook. One of my favorite things about this is how easy it is to adapt it to suit your own tastes. It also lends itself well to halving the recipe for smaller families.

Cori's Incredible Granola

10 C. old-fashioned oats (we now use the 5 Grain Cereal Mix from Winco's bulk - yum!)
1 C. sunflower seeds
1 C. pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/2 C. sesame seeds
1/2 C. wheat germ
1/2 C. flax seed meal
1/2 lb. shredded coconut
3 C. walnuts, pecans, almonds, or combo (I use 1 C. sliced almonds and 2 C. walnut pieces)
1 1/2 C. brown sugar
1 C. water
1/3 C. vegetable oil
1/2 C. honey
1/2 C. molasses
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon (sometimes I use other spices like Homemade Apple Pie Spice)
3 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 300º. In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, water, oil, honey, molasses, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Heat on medium low until sugar is dissolved, but do not boil. Meanwhile, in a very large bowl, combine oats, seeds, wheat germ, flax seed meal, coconut, and nuts. Blend well. Pour prepared syrup over dry ingredients and stir until well-coated. Spread onto at least two jelly roll pans lined with parchment paper. Bake 30 minutes, stirring after fifteen minutes (this creates a soft-textured granola; if you like it crunchier, bake an additional 15 minutes). Keeps up to 6 months in an airtight container.

Cori Gillespie (adapted from Make-A-Mix)