Banana Bread Granola

I stumbled across this website, the Minimalist Baker, while looking for a new granola recipe. I love their premise: "sharing simple, delicious recipes that require 10 ingredients or less, one bowl, or 30 minutes or less to prepare." I was already hooked, and then I saw their recipe for Banana Bread Granola, and it was over. You gotta go over there...the pictures of the granola are mouthwatering. I've given you a few pictures to hold you over, but you really should visit their site. I made a few changes to this recipe, not because the original didn't sound delicious, but because I was out of walnuts and vanilla extract. I kind of like the addition of almonds and almond extract though. Quite delicious. I made mine with honey because I'm out of agave and maple syrup at the moment, and because I make my banana bread with honey, so it just made sense to keep it consistent. If you're a granola fan, and you like banana bread, you'll love this one.

Banana Bread Granola
Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup almond slivers
3/4 cup pecans
3 Tbsp raw sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp flax seed
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp maple syrup, agave or honey
1 tsp almond extract
1 medium ripe banana, mashed (~1/2 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix the oats, cinnamon, sugar, salt, flax seed and nuts together in a large bowl.

3. In a small saucepan over medium low heat, warm the coconut oil, honey, and almond extract. Once it becomes liquid, remove from heat and whisk in banana puree until well combined. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well.

4. Spread the mixture evenly onto one or two baking sheets (making sure it doesn't get crowded) and bake for 23-28 minutes or until golden brown. The coconut oil will help it crisp up well, but be sure to watch it carefully as it can brown quickly.

5. Once the granola is visibly browned, remove from the oven and toss just a bit to let the heat escape. Cool completely on the baking sheet or in a heat-safe bowl.