New Granola

This crunchy homemade granola skips the oil entirely and uses frozen apple juice concentrate as the binder instead. That gives you golden, clustered oats with a natural fruit sweetness that doesn’t taste like candy. Slivered almonds and shredded coconut add richness and crunch without any added fat.

The two-stage bake is what makes this work. The oats and almonds go in first and get stirred every so often to break up clumps and toast evenly. The coconut goes in later because it burns fast. Watch it closely during those final 15 minutes.

Dried sour cherries and golden raisins get folded in after baking, not before. Baking dried fruit turns it into hard little pebbles. Stirring them into the warm granola lets them soften just slightly while keeping their chew.

Pro Tips

• Use old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick oats, which turn to dust during baking
• Stir gently during baking so you break some clumps but leave others intact for chunky clusters
• Let the granola cool completely on the sheet pan before storing. It crisps up as it cools
• Keeps well in an airtight container for up to a week

Variations

• Swap dried cherries for dried cranberries or chopped apricots
• Add pepitas or sunflower seeds with the almonds for extra crunch
• Toss in dark chocolate chips after cooling for a trail mix twist