Granola For Picky Kids

BAKING INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Pour the oats and cinnamon into a nonstick baking pan. Mix the cinnamon into the oats. Next, pour oil and honey into a 1-cup measuring cup, followed by the vanilla. (By pouring the olive oil in first, the honey slides right out of the cup, rather than clinging to the glass sides.) Pour the liquid ingredients into the pan with the oats and mix well. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Be sure to stir the granola at the sides of the pan, so it doesn’t burn.

Once the 30 minutes are up, I usually give it one last stir, turn off the oven, and put the granola back in the oven to cool overnight. It doesn’t need to cool that long, but I find leaving it in the oven gives it a little extra baking time and helps it dry out so it’s ready to eat by morning. If you have a well insulated oven, I’d probably let the granola cool on the counter so it doesn’t burn, but our oven is pretty old and cools off quickly. Or you can eat it while it is still warm, just be sure you let it cool before storing in an airtight container. Baking this in the oven produces a crisper granola, as well as several sweet clusters. When the granola cools, it will be stuck together, but will easily break apart when you put it into your airtight container. My family prefers granola baked in the oven, but I also sometimes make it in the crock pot.

CROCK POT INSTRUCTIONS:
Alternatively you can cook this granola in the crock pot. Pour all the ingredients into your crock pot, set it on low, and cook for 3-5 hours, stirring every hour. When using the crock pot method, be sure to keep the lid cracked a bit. I usually stick my silicone spatula in the crock pot to keep the lid cracked. After about 3 hours, taste it to see if the granola is done to your liking. It will be soft and moist in the crock pot, but once it cools, it crisps up a bit. I find if I make a whole batch, it takes closer to 5 hours, but if I halve the recipe, it only takes about 3 hours.

ADD-INS:
If you prefer nuts, dried fruit or coconut in your granola, you can either replace some of the oats with your add-ins before cooking, or add them individually at the time of serving. If you have picky eaters in your household, this is a nice basic recipe that is easily adjustable.