Shelia's Granola

My parent's recently went to Augusta, Georgia with my father's siblings for a vacation at my uncle's house. My mom raved about the granola my Aunt Shelia made for breakfast so I had to try it.

It was delicious! I added it to old-fashioned oatmeal, Greek yogurt, even fromage blanc. The recipe makes a lot - I gave some out to friends and still had enough for the week. Thanks Shelia!

Shelia’s Granola

1 18-oz can of Quaker instant oats (1 minute oats)
8 oz. unsalted butter (2 sticks)
½ lb. light brown sugar
1tbsp cinnamon
1tbsp nutmeg
½ tbsp mace or allspice
1 cup toasted walnuts
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 cup toasted slivered almonds
2 cups golden raisins
2 cups dried cherries or cranberries

Melt the butter and add sugar and spices. Mix thoroughly with oats. Spread on baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees until dry, about 30 to 40 min. Turn and mix with spatula several times while baking. Let cool.

After granola has cooled, add the nuts, raisins, coconut, and cranberries or cherries.

You can toast the coconut in the oven as long as you watch that it does not burn. You can also toast it in a skillet on the stove as you would the nuts. Toasting the nuts and coconut adds a lot of flavor and is worth the extra effort.