Cherry Almond Granola

It's Spring and things are changing.  There are plants popping up all over the yard.  I've got tomatoes planted in my garden and I just picked my first 2 buckets of strawberries of the season.  Even our breakfast table is changing this Spring.   Smoothies, granola, fresh fruit and yogurt is replacing the heartier pancakes, waffles and casserole breakfasts that we ate all winter. 

Nutty, crunchy granola sweetened with a touch of honey and dabbled with a few plump, juicy cherries is the perfect way to kick off a beautiful Spring day.  This Cherry Almond Granola recipe came from my Baking with Less Sugar cookbook.  I love it - I hope that you will too.

Cherry Almond Granola
1 1/2 cups dried cherries
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups slivered almonds
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup almond flour
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup flaxseed
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup millet

Preheat oven to 325.  Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat. 

Place dried cherries in a bowl.  Cover with boiling water.  Let sit 30 minutes.  Drain cherries, reserving 2 Tablespoons juice. 

Combine oil, honey and vanilla.

Combine almonds, oats, almond flour, coconut, salt, cinnamon, flaxseed, sunflower seeds and millet.

Add wet ingredients to dry and combine with a wooden spoon.

Process 1/2 of the cherries in food processor along with reserved juice. 

Stir processed cherries and whole cherries into mixture. 

Spread onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake 20 minutes at 325.  Leave granola in oven at least 6 hours to cool. 

Serve granola with yogurt or fresh fruit ... or both. 

This recipe is easily adaptable to your own tastes.  Switch out the cherries with another fruit that you love.  Swap out the coconut or almonds for foods that you like.  Change it up and make it unique to you. 

Ciao!

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