Fruit and Nut Granola with Chia Seeds and Coconut

Thank you to DeliciousObsessions.com for this recipe

Ingredients

8 cups old fashioned oats (look for gluten free)

2 cups shredded coconut

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup dried cherries

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup walnuts, (soaked if possible)

1 cup sliced almonds, (soaked if possible)

1 cup sunflower seeds, (soaked if possible)

1 cup pumpkin seeds, (soaked if possible)

1 cup chia seeds

2 cups coconut oil

1 cup honey

2 tsp. vanilla

2 heaping tbsp. cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

In a saucepan, melt the coconut oil and honey together over low heat and whisk until combined. Stir in the vanilla and remove from heat. In a huge bowl (or two large bowls if you don’t have a huge bowl :)) place the oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and coconut. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the dry mixture and stir to combine. Pour the honey/coconut oil mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until everything is coated. Grease some baking sheets (I have to use 3 baking sheets for a full batch) with coconut oil, pour the granola mixture onto a baking sheet, and spread out into a single layer. Bake for one hour, stirring occasionally. You want the granola to be golden brown. The granola will still seem wet when you take it out after an hour, but it dries out and gets crunchy after it sits. Careful not to overcook it, as the dried fruit gets a weird burnt flavor. I learned that the hard way, unfortunately.

Store the cereal in a glass jar in the fridge to keep it fresh and keep the nuts and seeds from going rancid.