Granola time!

Many mornings I find myself asking my kids "What would you like for breakfast?" And in return I always get "What do you have?"  My run down is always the same....bagels, pancakes, waffles, toast... Blah, Blah, Blah.  Not very exciting day in and day out.

So today I went to one of my favorite cookbooks; Feeding The Whole Family by Cynthia Lair for a little inspiration.  One of our favorite recipes is: Maple Butter Nut Granola.  This is absolutely heavenly!  The smell of it coming from my kitchen is like Autumn to me. The maple and nut...I can just picture us eating it with yogurt or soy milk and some coffee (for mama only of course ;) ).

Maple Butter Nut Granola
Makes 8 cups

3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon nut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, seeds, almonds, cinnamon and salt; mix well.

In a small pan melt butter; add syrup and nut butter and stir to blend. Remove from heat and add extracts.

Slowly pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients, using a spatula to fold and evenly coat the dry mixture with wet.

Spread on a cookie sheet or shallow pan and bake until granola is dry and golden (45 to 60 minutes), turning granola every 15 to 20 minutes so that it toasts evenly. Store in an airtight jar.

Enjoy!

What are some of your breakfast favorites?