One of my husband’s favorite snacks is Greek yogurt with granola and blueberries. While we have tried many commercial mixes, including a really yummy one from a nice lady in Arizona, it was cost prohibitive to buy in the bulk we needed. Enter, The Pioneer Woman’s homemade granola recipe! I have been making Ree’s recipes for over 10 years now and they have not steered me wrong. This one is no exception. One of the things I like about it is it’s versatility; you can add/remove and tweak the recipe to make it your own.

• 6 cups old fashioned oats (not quick oats)
• 1/4 cup light oil (not olive)
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for greasing
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup Rice Krispies
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/4 cup almonds, slivered
• 1 cup dried fruit of choice, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, toss the oats with the oil, melted butter and salt. Spread the mixture out on 2 baking sheets and toast in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, shaking the pan twice and making sure they don’t burn. Remove from the oven and set aside. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey, apple juice and molasses. Heat the mixture slowly, stirring until all combined. Stir in the vanilla. Toss together the toasted oats, rice cereal, wheat germ, pecans, almonds and fruit if using. Pour in the sugar mixture, stirring as you pour. Toss to combine; it will be sticky. Press into 1 baking sheet (thoroughly greased with butter, or line pan with foil and grease foil) and bake until golden, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. As it is cooling I like to start breaking it up into small pieces as my husband doesn’t like big chunks of granola. The longer you let it sit as it cools the crunchier it will get and be harder to break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.