I know what you are thinking – oh fun, homemade granola. Maybe next we can make our own cereal? Hear me out though.

Storebought granola never really gets it right for me. Sometimes the nuts are stale, sometimes the flavours aren’t my favourite, and the price can be unreasonably high for what is basically crunchy oatmeal. Even if you manage to overlook these things, the sugar content often verges on madness.

Homemade granola takes a bit of time in the oven, but the actual prep work is less than the effort of going out to the store, with better results. I’ve used the flavours I like but please adjust based on your own preferences and the contents of your cupboard. You can switch out the nuts (or leave them out completely), add a handful of coconut, and change the spices.

Makes: About 5 cups of granola

Ingredients:

• 4 cups quick oats
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees f
2. Line a cookie with parchment paper (see note)
3. In a large bowl, stir together oats (4 cups), pecans (1 cup), salt (1/2 tsp) and cinnamon (1/4 tsp)
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together canola oil (2 tbsp), maple syrup (1/2 cup), egg white, and vanilla (1/2 tsp)
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir well
6. Spread mixture evenly across cookie sheet(s)
7. Bake for 17 minutes, then use a spatula to break up the chunks and stir around
8. Bake for another 15 minutes or so, until the edges are starting to slightly brown and the granola is starting to get crunchy
9. Let cool on the cookie sheet – it will get a bit crunchier as it cools

Notes:

• If your baking pan is on the small side or doesn’t have the highest of edges, you may want to split this into two cookie sheets. This is a big recipe and you will want a bit of space on the pan for breaking up the chunks.
• Store for a week or two in a sealed jar in a cool dry place, or freeze a stash for later.