My mother's homemade granola

My mother is well-known in our extended family for her delicious granola. She would often bake it early in the morning, and we'd all wake up to the incredible aromas of cinnamon and honey flooding the house.... enough to get any sleepy adolescent out of bed!

I'm sure there are a lot of great granola recipes out there, but this one is definitely special.

Read on for the details and instructions...

My Mother's Granola

4 cups large rolled oats

2/3 cup dried coconut

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup whole almonds

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/3 cup flax seeds

1 Tbs ground cinnamon

1/4cup honey

1/4 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries

*you can use more honey of course, if you like it sweeter.

*optional ingredients: 1/4 cup raw cashews or other nuts. 1/2 cup of other dried fruit, such as apricots.

*My mother prefers to use a mix of large and small quick oats, which I certainly agree with.

1. combine oats, coconut, cinnamon, nuts and seeds in a large bowl.

2. Heat together the honey, oil and vanilla over medium heat for a few minutes (until hot & liquidy). Then pour over the oat mixture and mix well to coat all the ingredients.

3. Spread evenly on a large baking dish.

4. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. Then remove from oven and mix granola well. Then bake for another 10-15 minutes. Mix again. Depending on how well-done you like your granola, you can stop here or bake for another 10 minutes.

5. Finally mix in the dried fruit (raisins and/or dried cranberries) and allow to cool.

Store in a large glass jar or tin at room temperature.