(Here she goes with another date paste recipe…)

Sweet date granola! But I promise, you won’t even notice! I have a staple granola recipe I use with pure maple syrup and honey as the only sweeteners. It’s pretty tasty but I wanted to sub in the date paste and was concerned with how it would affect the texture. And would it be sweet enough?

The recipe below is the combination I ended up using and the sweetness was on point. Take a look at one of my previous posts for how to make the date paste. It’s actually cheaper to use the date paste as the cost of pure maple syrup and good quality honey are more expensive than a container of dates. I should also mention that this recipe can be easily adapted to use whatever nuts and spices you desire.

This granola pairs well with yogurt, milk or even ice cream. I happen to love it best plain as a crunchy sweet and salty snack. It should be stored in an airtight container to stay fresh. I would assume it can be stored this way for a month at least however ours never lasts that long!

Ingredients

• 3 cups rolled oats (old fashioned)

• 1 generous cup flaked unsweetened coconut (not desiccated)

• 1 cup sliced almonds

• 1 cup chopped pecans

• 1/4 cup flax seeds

• 3/4 cup coconut oil, melted

• 4 tbsp date paste (can use 2 tbsp pure maple syrup + 2 tbsp honey instead of date paste)

• 1 tsp pure maple syrup (optional for added sweetness and maple flavor)

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1 Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

2 Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Spread the mixture on a large baking sheet.

3 Bake for 25 minutes. I baked 15 min, stirred and then baked for another 10 min especially to move the outside pieces to the center as the pieces around the edges will brown first.

4 Let the granola sit on the baking sheet for another 10 minutes. This allows clusters to form.

notes

• If you prefer a sweeter granola, you can add 1 tbsp of honey or pure maple syrup in addition to the 4 tbsp of date paste.
• 3/4 cup of raisins or any dried fruit can be added halfway when stirring.
• I use a standard sheet pan size. Any baking tray could work however rimmed baking sheets work best. Prior to investing in a good sheet tray, I used to use a flat baking sheet and had many pieces of granola fall off the edge when stirring. If you can, get a sheet pan to avoid any granola casualties!