The Cement Truck Kitchen was in full holiday gift manufacturing mode this month. We made triple batches of this granola, gearing up for all the bags to deliver from Chanukkah through the new year’s parties.

I’ve been auditioning granola recipes for years. My family has been happy about this and is at the ready to do batch comparisons and blind taste tests.

This recipe is a distant cousin to a long ago Martha Stewart recipe.

In Cement Truck Kitchen taste tests, it’s less sweet, but still tied with Melissa Clark’s olive oil granola and Molly Wizenberg’s granola. I encourage you to make this recipe your own–replace the almonds and pecans with other nuts that you like (pistachios, walnuts, hazelnuts?), swap whole flax seeds or pumpkin seeds for the sesame seeds, and mix in your favorite dried fruits.

Honey almond flax granola recipe

4 cups of old fashioned rolled oats (not instant or quick-cooking oats)
3/4 cup slivered or coarsely chopped almonds (unsalted)
1/4 cup chopped pecans (unsalted)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 ground flax seeds
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg or scant 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup raisins, dried carnberries, chopped dates, chopped figs, or dried cherries
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded or grated coconut

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking pans with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In large bowl, mix together the oats, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, ground flax seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg/cardamom, and salt. Add the canola oil and honey and mix well.

3. Spoon the granola onto the prepared pans and using a spatula, tamp down the granola.

4. Put the pans in the oven and check after 20 minutes, and continue to bake until the granola is nicely toasted and golden brown. Check frequently so that it does not burn.

5. Remove pans from the oven and cool before removing the granola. By cooling it on the pans, large clumps will form (which most people like).

6. While the granola is cooling, toast the coconut. Heat the oven to 350 degrees, spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake until toasted, about 4-6 minutes. Watch it closely so that it doesn’t burn, and stir the coconut if it is not toasting evenly.

7. Mix the cooled granola, coconut, and fruit together, and put it in attractive packages to give to friends.