Foodie Friday: Homemade Maple Pecan Granola

I regularly tweet pictures of my kitchen escapades (aka food I've cooked), but they usually don't make it to the blog. I felt like doing something different today, so I thought I'd share my recipe for homemade granola.

I use maple syrup instead of refined sugar to sweeten it, which not only lends itself to a healthier granola with a more full-bodied taste, it also allows you to skip the entire step of turning regular, granulated sugar into simple syrup.

Simply put, this recipe is equal parts easy and delicious. It works well in your milk of choice, on yogurt or ice cream, or just as a crunchy snack on its own. It's also open to a million and one variations: change up the nuts, use different spices, add seeds, extracts, flavors, nut butter, dried fruit, coconut, chocolate chips - you get the idea!

Maple Pecan Granola

3 cups quick cook oats
1.5 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup maple syrup

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add maple syrup and mix well, making sure to coat the entire mixture.

Transfer mixture to a greased baking dish big enough that the granola can lay mostly flat. I use two 9x13 Pyrex dishes.

Bake at 300°F for 45-50 minutes turning granola every 15 minutes, until crisp and lightly golden brown.