This is the third installment of the Kitchen’s 2009 Holiday Basket Bonanza (HBB). Last year, I started doing baskets for a few recipients on our holiday list. They were so well received that I decided to do them again this year, but I am switching out a few of the recipes to try new ones! I’ll be making a trip out soon to buy supplies and I’ll be updating the Kitchen with pictures as we go!

Last year’s baskets included Oreo truffles, banana bread, homemade white bread and Stonewall Kitchen jam, spiced pecans, brownies, cookies and seasoned popcorn. This year, I am keeping the banana bread, spiced pecans and the brownies and I will make a different homemade bread with jam. The rest is getting changed up! I’ll be doing truffles again this year, but I’m going to do Almond Joy truffles instead of Oreo. I have a very soft spot for Almond Joys. Mmmm. I’m also making some savory crackers, snickerdoodles and granola.

This week, I’m sharing a recipe for granola.  A few years back, suitNtie and I had the good fortune to get away over Valentine’s Day weekend to Vermont. We found a cute bed and breakfast online and made our reservations.  The Carriage House of Woodstock was everything we thought it would be. Debbie, one of the owners, was a wonderful cook and not only was our breakfast consistently tasty, but the cookies she put out for us in the afternoon were amazing.  suitNtie fell in love with the granola and ate it every morning we stayed there.

I never asked for the recipe, but I did stumble upon it online within the past year and I’ve sworn to make it as a surprise to my husband. I’m including it in our holiday baskets this year because he is quite the granola snob, so I know that if he likes it that it MUST be good!

2½ cups of old-fashioned oats
¾ cup sliced almonds (chopped)
½ cup pecan pieces (chopped)
¼ cup sweetened shredded coconut
¼ cup toasted wheat bran
¼ cup (packed) golden brown sugar
¼ cup mild flavored (light) molasses
¼ cop vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups of whole grain cereal
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 325F. Combine oats, cereal, nuts, coconut, wheatbran and cinnamon. In separate bowl, whisk sugar, molasses, oil, and vanilla. Pour sugar mixture over cereal. Mix thoroughly and then pour into large roasting pan. Bake granola uncovered until toasted, stirring every 5 minutes (about 30 minutes total). Mix in cereal, raisins and cranberries and bake for 5 minutes. Cool granola and then transfer to airtight container. Makes 8 cups.