Tis the season...

For baking!

I recently made some of the best granola yet.  I loosely followed a recipe (aka a "suggestion"), but added a lot more goodies.

Here are the approximates...

3 cups whole oats                                                                 

1 cup quick oats

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1/3 cup wheat germ

1 cup walnut halves

1/2 cup peanut bits

3/4 cup coconut

1 cup dates...plus some more sprinkled on for good luck

1 cup maple syrup

Splashes of vanilla

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

palmful cinnamon...plus a lot sprinkled on just before baking

Mix dry and wet and combine.  Bake at ~300 degrees for 45 minutes.  Toss.  Continue baking and checking until crunch chewy goodness results.  If you don't like dates, raisins or other dried fruit are great as well.  But this was the first time I used dates and they caramelized around the crunchies. 

The result was the best granola yet!