Cooking Light Power Granola For The Win

I heart Cooking Light. A lot. Its recipes have yet to let me down, in fact.

And so it should come as no surprise that the Cooking Light power granola recipe I tried for the first time last weekend was quickly added to the “Yeah — I’ll hang onto this recipe for years to come” list. The fact that it’s crazy quick and easy to whip up is an added bonus. (I’ve already made two batches since Sunday!)

I almost feel like I’m an unpaid spokesperson for Trader Joe’s at this point since I sing their praises so much, but I just can’t help it! For this granola recipe, I used the TJ’s Golden Roasted Milled Flax Seed with Blueberries as well as the TJ’s Dried Pitted Tart Montgomery Cherries. I’ve been loving the dried cherries mixed into flax seed oatmeal in recent weeks and they worked great in this granola as well. To my dismay, though, I think they might be gone from Trader Joe’s! Slightly tragic. Luckily, Target’s Market Pantry brand also has dried cherries that are super yummy, so I guess I’ll have to use those until TJ’s brings theirs back to shelves.

But back to the granola:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups regular oats
• 1/3 cup ground flax seed
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup dried cherries

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Combine first five ingredients in a medium bowl
• Combine orange juice, honey, and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in oil and vanilla.
• Pour honey mixture over oat mixture, stirring to coat. Spread mixture in a thin layer onto baking sheet.
• Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, and stir.
• Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until granola is golden brown. Spoon granola into a bowl and stir in cherries.
• Cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks (good luck making it last that long!).

I recommend mixing some of this deliciousness into Greek yogurt for an extra-powerful breakfast or snack. (My fave is the Chobani Blood Orange non-fat yogurt. Yum!)