momma's homemade fig, coconut, and honey granola recipe

This year, my mother made this simple and delicious granola recipe as a gift for family and friends for Christmas. It can be eaten plain by the handful as a snack, with milk for cereal, or on top of yogurt or ice cream! The honey and coconut gives it perfectly balanced sweetness, but it is nicely crunchy and very nutritious. The recipe my mom uses calls for figs, cherries, apricots, and cranberries, but you can use whatever dried fruit (or nuts!) you prefer.

Ingredients:

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (you can substitute gluten-free oats as well for gluten-free granola)
2 cups sweetened (or unsweetened, if you prefer) shredded coconut
3 cups slivered almonds
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup vegetable oil (you can use 3/4 cup vegetable oil total instead of 1/2 cup coconut oil and 1/4 cup vegetable oil if you prefer, or don't have coconut oil available)
1/2 cup honey
1.5 cups small diced dried figs
1 cup diced dried cherries
1 cup small diced dried apricots
1 cup dried cranberries

Method:

Preheat oven to 425. Toss the oats, shredded coconut, and almonds together in a large bowl. Whisk together the vegetable and coconut oil and honey in a small bowl, and pour over the oat/coconut/almond mixture. Stir until all the oats, coconut, and almonds are coated, then pour onto a 1-inch sheet pan (regular old cookie tray will do). Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring or flipping the granola occasionally. It should be a nice golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool, then add figs, apricots, cherries, and cranberries. The granola doesn't need to be refrigerated but should be stored in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Note: my mother's recipe is a variation on the homemade granola from Sarah Chase's Open House Cookbook, the link to which can be found here.