4 cups whole oats, old fashioned rolled
1/2 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
2 cups almonds, whole, raw (untoasted)
2 cups coconut flakes, sweetened
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup honey*
1 cup raisins, optional
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, optional
1) Gather together your ingredients and have them pre-measured. Set out your tools, as well. You'll want to use a spatula, spoons, bowls, and sheet pans. This way, when the granola is ready to assemble, you won't be wasting time hunting for ingredients or tools, Use parchment paper to line the pans, and clean up will be a snap!
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Arrange the racks so that two pans can be placed in the oven at a time. Make sure you have your recipe available, too!
2) *For measuring the honey, first spray the measuring cup with a little bit of cooking spray -- I use an oil spritzer. Then pour in your honey. It will pour back out of the pitcher very easily!
Measure the honey into the butter, and then microwave it on a low-power setting for 3-5 minutes, until the butter is melted. Stir in the vanilla. These are your wet ingredients.
3) Combine the oats, brown sugar, almonds, coconut flakes, and cinnamon into a large bowl.
4) Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Stir thoroughly, making sure that everything is well-coated, that brown sugar clumps are broken up, and the ingredients are evenly distributed.
5) Spread the granola onto the sheet pans. Spread the layer of granola as thin and even as possible. Place in the oven, one pan on each rack. Bake for 20 minutes.
6) Remove the pan from the oven. Stir the granola thoroughly, being sure to draw in the more-baked edges into the center and spreading the less-baked portions outwards. Return to the oven and bake for 20 more minutes. Be sure to put the pan that had been on the top shelf on the bottom shelf, rotating the pan as well, so that the baking is even. Repeat for the remaining pan. The skilled hands in the picture below belong to my husband. I'm holding the camera, obviously.
7) As the baking goes along, the granola will darken slowly, turning a caramel brown. When you're stirring the granola, notice the color. Once it is evenly caramel colored, remove the granola from the oven. Depending on the heat of your oven it make take an additional cycle of baking, but be sure to remove the granola and stir it regularly to prevent burning. To be safe, reduce the baking time to 10 minutes and watch it carefully. The granola will become crispy as it cools, so don't wait for that. You'll bake for approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Below, you'll see the distinctive color differences, photographed at the same spot, after 2 cycles of baking. I was also using my mother-in-law's oven, which is a gas Jenn-Air. The coconut will brown, so be careful that it doesn't burn.
8) Remove the granola from the oven and allow it to cool. Stir after approximately 10 minutes to ensure that the granola doesn't stick to the pan in a long sheet. It is very difficult to pack into the container this way. Sprinkle with raisins, if desired, while the granola is hot.
9) Once the granola has cooled completely, it can be placed into an air-tight container and enjoyed at any time!
