The crab apple tree is laden with blossoms, and my mind immediately translates the flowers into rows of half-pint jars filled with crab apple jelly. I will use less than ten percent of the crab apples produced to make jelly, leaving the rest for the wildlife. Yesterday, I made another pan of these (click here), and this pan of cherry and almond granola. My oldest daughter likes to simply eat this granola of a Ziploc bag while she's working, but I'm looking forward to granola and yogurt breakfast parfaits. This is a variation of my favorite granola recipe -I gave the Date-Pecan Granola recipe in an earlier post (click here).
Cherry-Almond Granola
5 c. thick-cut oatmeal
1 1/2 oz. pkg. sesame seeds (about 1/3 c.)
3/4 c. apple butter
1/3 c. Lyle's Golden Syrup
1/4 c. honey
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 c. whole almonds
1/2 t. salt
2 T. canola oil
Mix all together in a large roasting pan and roast 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes until golden brown. I repeatedly set the timer for 10 minutes, decreasing the time to 5 minutes towards the end, otherwise I tend to over brown it, which is a huge disappointment. Cool and add 2 c. dried cherries. Store in an airtight container.
