Easy DIY granola cereal that tastes like a cookie! Serve it in a bowl with milk, on top of yogurt, or on its own as a tasty snack.
This DIY cinnamon and honey granola cereal is super easy to make and costs much less than the store-bought versions. It’s a sweet granola (not a healthy one!) that tastes similar to an oatmeal raisin cookie.
The ingredients are simple and you probably have most of them in your kitchen already:
- Rolled Oats (Use old-fashioned rolled oats or quick-cooking rolled oats. Don’t use instant oats.)
- Walnuts (optional)
- Cinnamon
- Brown Sugar
- Honey
- Vegetable Oil
- Water
- Salt
- Vanilla Extract
- Raisins or Craisins (optional)
HOW TO MAKE CINNAMON & HONEY GRANOLA:
Preheat your oven to 250F then mix the oats, nuts, and cinnamon together in a large mixing bowl. In a smaller mixing bowl, stir the brown sugar, honey, vegetable oil, water, salt, and vanilla extract together until well combined and no lumps of sugar remain. Next, pour the sugar mixture on top of the oat mixture and stir everything together really well. Make sure all the oats are coated. (If necessary, add an extra splash of water to make sure there are no dry spots.) You can taste it at this point and add more sugar or cinnamon if you want.
Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Pour the oat mixture onto the prepared cookie sheet and use a spoon to press it down firmly into an even layer, about 1/2 inch thick. It should look like one big flat granola bar. Make sure the edges are pressed firmly into the pile. Any loose edges might burn during cooking.
Bake the granola in pre-heated oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. It’s done once the edges have slightly browned and hardened up. The center might not be hard when you take it out, but it will stiffen up a little more as it cools. If you want your end result to be crunchier, leave your granola in the oven for the full baking time. Just keep an eye on it to make sure the edges don’t get dark brown.
Remove the granola from the oven and cool for at least 15 minutes. At this point, you will have one big piece of granola . Use a metal spatula and your clean hands to break up the granola into small clusters. Stir in the raisins or craisins and enjoy!
Usually we eat the granola as cereal, but it also tastes great as a topping on yogurt or eaten on its own as a snack. Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for a few days.
DIY Cereal – Cinnamon & Honey Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 Tablespoons warm water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup raisins OR craisins (optional, stir-in after baking)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
- Stir together oats, nuts, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate smaller bowl, add brown sugar, honey, vegetable oil, water, salt, and vanilla extract. Stir until well combined and there are no lumps of sugar. Pour sugar mixture on top of the oat mixture. Stir well, making sure all oats are coated and there are no dry spots.
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Pour oats onto the prepared cookie sheet and use a spoon to press them down firmly into an even layer, about 1/2 inch thick.
- Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until edges start to brown and harden up. Remove from oven and cool for at least 15 minutes.
- At this point, you will have one big piece of granola. Use a metal spatula and your clean hands to break up the granola into small clusters. Stir in raisins or craisins and enjoy!
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