Fruit, Nut, Spice Granola

I was thrilled when my little sister gave me the Gourmet Today cookbook for Christmas (thanks, Sis!), and I've already tried two recipes from it. Another Christmas gift was a box of walnuts and almonds from my mother's cousins own trees and nearby nut farms in California. With a wealth of nuts and a brand new cookbook, I decided to make granola for the first time.

I based my recipe on Gourmet's Fruit and Spice Granola, using a little less honey and coconut because I couldn't find unsweetened flaked coconut and swapping in the nuts I had on-hand. The results are delicious. While a stick of butter may sound like a lot, you'll need it all to wet the oats. Plus, the recipe yields a lot of cereal, and you only need to use a small amount of granola with yogurt anyway. Here's the recipe:

Fruit, Nut, Spice Granola
based on Gourmet's Fruit and Spice Granola

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped almonds
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup honey
1/2 c. each dried cranberries, raisins and chopped dried apricots

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl stir together oats, coconut, nuts, salt and spices.
3. In a small saucepan melt butter with honey over low heat, stirring occasionally. Pour butter mixture over oat mixture and toss to combine well (I used salad tongs to toss the oats).
4. Spread granola evenly in 2 shallow baking pans and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, stirring frequently and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
5. In large bowl combine granola with dried fruits and cool, stirring occasionally for 1 1/2 hours as it cools.

(Granola keeps in an airtight container, chilled, 1 month.)