Cinnamon Berry Granola

This granola is so easy to make, very healthy and super delicious! My neighbor Carrie gave me the recipe and I have added my own ideas as I have experimented with it. Carrie is a health nut with 7 kids so she wanted something the kids would eat, but not know they were getting a good dose of fiber and protien at the same time. The only thing she could not replace with something better was the sweetened condensed milk. It has sugar,but not too much. The canned milk is really the key that makes this granola different than the other recipes that use oil and other sweeteners. Tip: Buy the ingredients in bulk so that you always have everything on hand to whip up a batch. I try to make it every Sunday and bag it up in small portions for my family to grab and go through out the week.


1 cup grape nuts
3 cups oats (health food stores have 7 grain oat blends in the bulk bins-best for nutrition)
1 cup small grain cereal (health food stores sell these, you usually add hot water to eat these by themselves, it is like cream of wheat or malt o meal. You can do a flax cereal or whatever, just choose a smaller grain texture)
1 cup nuts ( I use slivered almonds or you could use cashews, etc.)
1 cup dried berries ( I use a 3 blend of cranberry, tart cherry and blueberry. I find it at Sam"s Club or Costco and it is delicious)
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or not, your choice)

Add later:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp almond extract
Dark chocolate chips (optional, but to die for in this!)

Mix all of these ingredients in large bowl. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. I use ground saigon cinnamon. It is very flavorful, more like a cinnamon bear. Stir and sprinkle generously again. You really can't over do the cinnamon.

In a separate large bowl, pour in a can of sweetened condensed milk. Add 1 tsp. of almond extract. Stir. Microwave 2 minutes straight in the microwave. The bowl is large so that the milk will not boil over in your microwave. Take out and stir. Pour over the dry ingredients. Stir well to coat all of it.

Spread out evenly on a large cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Wait until cooled slightly but just a bit warm to remove from pan. The longer it cools, the more it hardens to the pan. Use a spatula. I usually put the granola right into ziplock bags while slightly warm and leave the bags open a few minutes until it cools completely. Once cooled, I put a small handful of dark chocolate chips into each bag, seal them and shake to mix. Granola is fabulous and soft right out of the oven and the next day as well. By day 3 and beyond it stays good in the bagies but becomes more like the crunchy granola to add milk to or put on yogurt etc. Enjoy