My husband, Phil, is asking for homemade granola. Now that we are newly emtpy-nesters, we have very little sweets in the house, except for a few dark chocolate bars and a box of graham crackers.
But he can’t fool me with his request. I know what he really would like is homemade chocolate chip cookies (his weakness), but he thinks homemade granola with chocolate chips is a great substitute for chocolate chip cookies, possibly because it makes him feel “healthier” when he overeats it. Which he always does.
I make granola rather than granola bars because I can use less sugar. The only way you can get granola to really stick together to create a bar is to put quite a bit of honey or agave (not a favorite of mine) in the recipe. I prefer to make all of my sweets with the least amount of sugar or honey I can get away with without sacrificing taste. This granola recipe only calls for 2 tablespoons of honey, while most bar recipes (and many granola recipes for that matter) will call for more like 1/2 cup or 1 cup of honey. Brown it well and you will find it a great substitute for a chocolate chip cookie! Try to limit it to 1/4-1/2 cup serving. Phil, are you listening?

Homemade Granola
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw rolled oats not instant or quick cook
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries you can use dried cranberries, raisins, dried cherries, dried blueberries or a mix of any or all of these
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
- 2 tablespoons raw honey or manuka honey
- 1 tablespoon real maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
Directions
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
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Place walnuts and almonds in a baggie and pound with a mallet so they are in chunks. You can also use a food processor to do this.
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Place nuts, oats, cranberries, chocolate chips and flaxseed in a large bowl and stir to combine.
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Add honey and maple syrup.
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Stir to combine. Use your hands also to really cover all the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until everything is well combined.
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Add cinnamon and salt and stir to combine.
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Pour granola into a jelly roll pan and spread around evenly.
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Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until nicely browned. Stir a couple of times during cooking to evenly brown.
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Let cool 10 minutes. Store in airtight container.