Vanilla Raisin Granola

Vanilla Raisin Granola all packaged up and ready to be gifted

I'll admit it. I'm a granola addict. And I learned today that homemade granola tastes so much better than my typical Kashi Go Lean Crunch (not 100% granola by definition, but it does the job, sans guilt). My favorite granola is Bruce's Granola at Cafe Patachou. I made the mistake one morning of buying a 16 ounce bag of it at the counter when I was in major craving mode. When the woman went to ring me up, she said, "$14 please." At that point, as the line was building behind me with business men waiting to purchase their morning coffee, I was too ashamed (or better put, my craving was too intense), so I went ahead and shelled out the cash anyway. I went home and enjoyed a healthy scoop of that chunky, fruity, wonderful goodness of granola over plain Greek yogurt. Simple, filling and satisfying.

If I am not speaking your language, you clearly are no #granolachild. If this helps, here is how Patachou describes their fruity mixture of toasted oats, sundried cherries, raisins and almonds:

Worthy of its own blog, healthy and decadent at the same time, fruity but not too sweet, inspiring bad poetry and exorbitant shipping charges, packed in backpacks and on private planes, buttery, addictive, hangover-free, crunchy but not too political, strong, handsome, the Brad Pitt of daily goodness, making you feel like a great 70′s singer-songwriters song, top-down, like a Dead Head sticker on a Cadillac, good on rainy days (especially the ones that turn snowy without notice), always the same, like your best friend of twenty years, the Mother to all others, granola at Cafe Patachou.

As the gift giving season is in full swing, I decided to make my own granola. I did a little research to figure out the basic elements, skipping over any recipes that did not include vanilla, honey and raisins. This granola is the perfect gift when placed in clear cellophane bags and tied with ribbon. Yesterday I dropped six bags off at a local pilates studio so some of my favorite instructors could enjoy a filling, sweet-but-not-too-sweet snack after class. Today the bags will be going to some of my co-workers. Everyone likes granola and everyone likes something homemade.

Vanilla Raisin Granola
Adapted from Eise's Homemade Granola

Granola on baking tray ready to be toasted

Ingredients
8 cups oats
2 cups sliced almonds
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
raisins (as much or little as you like)
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup honey
3 tablespoon vanilla

The Deal
Preheat oven to 300-degrees.
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
In a saucepan combine oil, honey and vanilla and bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute then pour over oat mixture.
Mix until all ingredients are moistened.
Divide and spread mixture over 2 large cookie sheets and bake at 300-degrees for 20-30 minutes. Remove from oven and leave on pans until the granola hardens (allow to dry completely if you prefer really crunchy granola). Break up the chunks, but leave a few for that extra crunch.