AMBROSIA GRANOLA with DRIED APRICOTS & NUTS

I had about 6 containers of assorted nuts and dried fruits and a container of oats, so out of pure boredom one morning, I made this granola. It turned out pretty tasty.  Not as sweet as some granola recipes, but with all the dried fruits, it’s definitely sweet enough for us.

The yogurt parfait featured in this recipe is so good. When our kids were littles, I made yogurt parfaits on a regular basis. This was a go-to on those hectic mornings when we would drive to school.  A pint jar layered with fresh fruit, yogurt and homemade granola was easy to pull together so they could eat in the car. You can add any fresh fruit you have on hand; peaches, pears, apples, bananas, berries, pineapple — anything goes.

Makes approximately 2-1/2 quarts

INGREDIENTS

• 3 C old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 C coconut oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1/2 C honey
• 1 T orange zest
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 C coarsely chopped pecans (or walnuts, which I like even better)
• 3/4 C raw pepitas
• 1⁄2 C roasted cashews
• 1 1⁄2 C sweetened flaked coconut
• 1/2 C organic dried cherries
• 1/2 C organic raisins (golden would be the best)
• 3/4 C organic dried apricots, chopped

Preheat oven to 300°.Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, stir together oats, honey, coconut oil, brown sugar, orange zest and salt until well incorporated. Spread this mixture evenly onto parchment lined pan.  Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. In the same bowl used for oats mixture, add in pecans, pepitas, cashews, coconut, cherries and dried apricots. Mix together and set aside. After 30 minutes of baking oats, mix in the nuts, fruits and coconut mixture and bake another 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until golden brown and lightly crisp.

FOR the PARFAIT

Makes 4 parfaits

• INGREDIENTS

  • 2 C Nancy’s organic yogurt (full fat) OR Greek yogurt
  • 1 C Ambrosia Granola with dried Apricots & Nuts
  • 1 C fruit of choice, diced (a combination of fruits are the best)
  • drizzle of honey (optional)
  • fresh mint sprig (optional)
  • clear glass bowls, pint jars or tall glasses

  With these amounts, each parfait will have a half cup of yogurt.  You can certainly add more or less if you’d like to. Layer the parfait so you have at least two layers of yogurt and two layers of granola with fresh fruit.  Finish with granola and fruit on top for a more visually appealing parfait.  Drizzle with honey and garnish with mint if so desired.