Vera's Coconut Cranberry Granola - Seasoned with Sunshine

I don’t know about you, but I love a good granola. A crispy, crunchy, perfectly sweetened granola that is baked to golden perfection. Oddly enough, they seem hard to come by! I’m sure we’ve all seen our fair share of granola that was too crunchy (um… if you might break a tooth on it, consider it too hard), too chewy, too sweet, too seedy (bird food?)… You get the idea.

I’ve baked more granola like that than I like to admit… When I was in high school, I had the privilege of helping take care of one of our elderly teachers. My responsibilities included making him granola, and I quickly learned that you can’t just “throw stuff together” like you can in other recipes… Too much liquid seemed to be my specialty. I ended up with baked oatmeal on a cookie sheet a few times. 😉

I’ve gotten better since then, but I was still hesitant to branch out and experiment. So, when my friend Vera whipped up an incredible batch of this coconut cranberry granola off the top of her head, I was floored. And I definitely went back for seconds. I’ve made a couple slight changes, but this recipe is definitely from her. 🙂 I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!!

This coconut cranberry granola is sweet, flaky, and has a slight nutty flavor (thanks to the wheat germ). It is also infused with a delicious coconut flavor and studded with chewy cranberries. And the only thing that tops the flavor is the aroma that will fill your house while a tray of this yumminess is baking! 🙂 But the best part is that this recipe is SO easy, and takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish! Eat it with milk, sprinkled on top of yogurt, mixed in your favorite smoothie, or simply by the handful. I promise, you’ll love it.

I hope you’ll whip up a batch today, and let me know what you think!
Oh, and now that I know it can be done, you can expect more granola recipes in the future. 😉

Coconut Cranberry Granola

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

Recipe type: Breakfast

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 cups Rolled Oats
2 cups Quick Oats
½ cup Wheat Germ
½ tsp Cinnamon
¼ tsp Salt
½ cup melted Coconut Oil (I prefer unrefined for a stronger coconut flavor)
½ cup maple syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
½ cup Flaked Coconut
½ cup dried Cranberries (reserve till the end)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350º.
In a large bowl, combine oats, wheat germ, cinnamon, and salt.
Add liquids to oat mixture, and mix until evenly combined, with no lumps.
Finally, stir in flaked coconut.
Spread evenly on a baking sheet, and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown, stirring after 10 minutes.*
When done, remove from oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet.
Once cooled, stir in cranberries.
Enjoy immediately, or store in an airtight container at room temperature.