Crunchy granola

We've made this a couple of times in a couple of different ways. The first time I followed the recipe as is, and it turned out just fine. The second time I made it using extra cinnamon pureed dates as a sweetener instead of honey. We all liked the second version better, plus it's lower on the glycemic index, so that makes it better for you.

Crunchy granola

Origin: New York Times
Yield: 8 cups
Prep/cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:
  ● 6 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant)
  ● 2 cups mixed nuts and seeds: I used sunflower seeds, chopped pecans and almonds, and ground flaxseed and wheat germ.
  ● 1 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut
  ● 2 tsp. ground cinnamon, or to taste
  ● Dash of salt
  ● 1/2 to 1 cup honey or similar sweetener (I used pureed dates), or to taste
  ● 1 cup raisins or dried fruit

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine oats, nuts and seeds, coconut, cinnamon, salt and sweetener. Place on a sheet pan and put in oven. Bake for 30 minutes or a little longer, stirring occasionally. Mixture should brown evenly; the browner it gets without burning, the crunchier the granola will be.

2. Remove pan from oven and add raisins or dried fruit. Cool on a rack, stirring once in a while until granola reaches room temperature. Transfer to a sealed container and store in refrigerator; it will keep indefinitely.

To make the pureed dates I took a handful of dates, removed the seeds, and put them in the food processor along with about a half cup water to start, adding more as needed to achieve a honey-like consistency (if you have it, a blender would work better).

Another note—Into this base of rolled oats you can stir just about any dry ingredient imaginable: other grains, like flakes of rye or wheat; dried fruit; spices, from cinnamon to vanilla to nutmeg to cardamom; orange zest, crystallized ginger, peanut butter, even chocolate chips. And of course, any nut or seed you can think of: I favor a combination of cashews, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and pecans.