Kitchen Sink Granola

In all fairness, I only measure out the oats, nuts, and applesauce.  Everything else gets the family recipe treatment--a handfull of this, a pinch of that, sprinkle, drizzle, glob, etc....  The trick is to be sure to get the wet ingredients evenly onto every bit of the drys and bake watchfully until perfectly golden. Thanks again to a dear friend of my mother's for posting her delicious Hippie Granola recipe without which I wouldn't have a this to share or a container full of homemade granola in my cabinet.

Place into a large mixing bowl and stir well to combine:

• 5 heaping cups rolled oats
• 2 cups raw, unsalted almonds, very finely chopped*
• 2 cups raw, unsalted walnuts, very finely chopped* 
• 1 cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1/4-1/3 wheat germ 

*It takes forever to chop the nuts by hand.  Put into a big ziploc bag 2 cups at a time and smash with the smooth side of a meat mallet.  Works like a dream and gets out some stress if you are like me and fail to paste on a perpetual smile a la (please play along and imagine an accent grave over that "a") June Cleaver whose real-life inspirations likely enjoyed their daily Valium as was the 50s housewife way!

In a smaller bowl or 4 cup measuring cup and stir until all incorporated:

• 3/4-1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 generous tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons oil (safflower or coconut works well)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 heaping teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Set racks in upper and lower thirds and preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Spread mixture into two large rimmed baking sheets or deeper baking pans.  You may have to bake a bit longer in the deeper ones.  If you are using dark or nonstick pans, please line with parchment paper to keep the granola from overcooking around the edges and bottom.

Bake 10 minutes, stir well, and rotate pans.  Continue baking in 10 minute intervals, stirring, and rotating pans for about 30 minutes, 40 minutes total give or take.  If you need to stir and rotate more than 3 times, watch it carefully as the edges overcook quickly.

This is perfectly baked and will dry crunchy

 Remove from the oven once it is light golden brown throughout.  It should look very different from the raw oats covered in the darker wet ingredients.  Let it sit to cool.  It gets good and crunchy as it cools.  Only add in dried fruits once completely cooled.

This is the super big Tupperware size

Serves many and keeps for several weeks in airtight containers.

I recommend only 1/4-1/3 cup servings at a time.  It's so nutrient, fiber, and protein filled that you'll be satisfied--no joke here, Frank might eat 1/2 cup after the gym, but that's pushing it.  We love it with milk (vanilla coconut is my favorite) or yogurt (plain Greek for even more protein and less sugar than flavored) then topped with fresh fruit or maybe chocolate chips for a treat.  We do add-ins and toppings by the individual serving since it makes such a huge batch.