Holiday Granola Recipe

After many requests for this recipe I am finally posting it! It is not necessarily a Holiday ONLY recipe because we enjoy it all year long, but we have been adding this to our Christmas cookies plates for several years now so it seems like a "Holiday" recipe to me! I love it in yogurt, oatmeal, plain cereal, and sprinkled on pretty much anything! It originally came from one of those Hannaford magazines they give out at the checkout each month. We modify it slightly to come up with our own version!

3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
4 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups flake cereal (any plain flakes will do, we used bran this year)
1 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
1 cup pecan pieces
2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (or dates)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line two rimmed cookie sheets with foil.
2. In a saucepan melt butter over med-high heat then add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
3. In a large bowl add oats, flake cereal, coconut, almonds, and cinnamon and mix well.
4. Pour butter mixture over dry ingredients and mix until well combined and coated.
5. Divide granola between the two baking sheets, spreading it into an even layer. Bake for 15 minutes. Then stir rotate pans and switch racks.
6. Bake for an additional 20 to 40 minutes until granola is golden stirring every 10 minutes. Watch VERY carefully during the last 10 minutes so that your granola doesn't burn! (This has happened to us several times!)
7. Pour granola into a large mixing bowl and stir in the cranberries or other dried fruit. Spread it back on to the baking sheets to cool at room temperature, then store in an airtight container. It can be kept for at least one week at room temperature,or one month when refrigerated. ENJOY!