Olive Oil and Maple Granola

I love homemade granola. I’ve featured several here over the past few years. This Maple & Olive Oil Granola is my favorite. More importantly, it’s my husband Greg’s favorite. We enjoy it as cereal with a bit of milk in the morning and with some vanilla yogurt as a snack later in the day. I try to always have that jar filled with this not-too-sweet treat.

I found the original recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Orangette. I’ve made it many times now.  Each a little different from the original recipe. The first time, I didn’t have any pumpkin seeds. The second, I couldn’t find unsweetened coconut chips. No problem. I added sliced raw almonds in place of the pumpkin seeds. Also, for the second batch, I mixed in a half cup of toasted shredded coconut for the last 15 minutes in the oven. The most important ingredients to not change are the maple syrup and olive oil. Both sweet and savory, and along with a healthy dose of kosher salt, you’ve got a positively addicting granola.

Olive Oil & Maple Granola – inspired and adapted from Orangette

• 4 cups rolled oats (not instant or steel cut)

• 1 cup raw, hulled sunflower seeds

• 1 cup raw, sliced almonds

• 1 1/4 cup raw pecans, chopped

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1 cup dried cherries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add olive oil and maple syrup and stir until well combined. Spread the mixture in an even layer on each of the lined baking sheets. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Remove granola from oven, season with a bit more salt and stir. Cool completely on rack, add the dried cherries and store in an air-tight container.