Wholly Good Granola

We LOVE this stuff! I've heard YES it's okay to eat oats this way and NO it's preferable to soak them and cook them. . . but we love this and that means something.

Wholly Good Granola
4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 ½ cups sliced or slivered almonds
½ cup packed light brown sugar (optional)
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ cup expeller pressed oil (we use coconut)
¼ cup honey (increase if no sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla (or almond extract is delicious)
1 ½ cups raisins or dried cranberries (we love cherries, too!)

(I usually sprinkle in wheat germ and flax seeds, and sometimes add coconut or sesame or sunflower seeds, or vary the nuts I use. If I add a lot of other goodies, I increase the oil and honey to 2/3 and 2/3.)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. In a saucepan, heat the honey and oil until warm. Stir in the vanilla or almond extract. Pour the liquid mixture over the oats. Stir gently. Spread granola in a jelly roll pan (I prefer the large stoneware bar pan). Bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes (or not at all if you use the stone!). Transfer pan to a cooling rack and stir in dried fruit. Allow to cool completely and then store in an air-tight container. Can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Makes approximately 9 cups. Enjoy!