Almond Raisin Granola

I love eating granola with my yogurt every morning and Dr. Sweetpea loves snacking on them or with a big bowl of milk like cereal. Unfortunately, it can be too expensive or too dry when we buy them in the grocery stores which is why I've started to make ours from scratch. I found this recipe in my Cooks Country magazine a few months ago and finally gave it a try and it turned out amazing!! This is definitely a keeper for us. The only thing I didn't do was add the raisins since we like eating our granola with fresh fruit.

Almond Raisin Granola 

(Source: Cooks Country) 

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup packed (2 1/3 ounces) light brown sugar

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon Salt

5 cups (15 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups (10 ounces) raw almonds, chopped coarse

2 cups (10 ounces) raisins, chopped

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. (I used a jelly roll baking sheet that's approximately 15.75"L x 11.25"W x 1.63"H.) Spray parchment with vegetable oil spray.

Whisk oil, maple syrup, sugar, vanilla, and salt together in large bowl. Fold in oats and almonds until thoroughly combined.

Transfer oat mixture to prepared sheet and spread across entire surface of sheet in even layer. Using stiff metal spatula, press down firmly on oat mixture until very compact. Bake until lightly browned, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.

Transfer sheet to wire rack and let granola cool completely, about 1 hour. Break cooled granola into pieces of desired size. Stir in raisins and serve. (Granola can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.)