Tropical Granola

I have been having such a craving for tropical dried fruit lately. Maybe it is the warmer weather or something...who knows. I don't like to snack on just dried fruit though because it does have quite a bit of sugar. I was trying to think of a way to get my tropical fruit craving filled and came up with Tropical Granola! I am a little obsessed with homemade granola lately. It is so delicious and you can customize it to your craving of the week. I found this recipe on Annie's Eats, but modified it slightly. The original recipe calls for 1/3 cup brown sugar; to be honest, I forgot to put it in, but it still tastes great! The original recipe also uses pineapple puree instead of honey. Since I didn't have any pineapple available I used honey. It also calls for coconut extract, but I left it out.

Tropical Granola

5 and 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup honey
1 ripe banana mashed
1/3 cup applesauce (I used the unsweetened type)
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of cinnamon
1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups dried tropical fruit
1/2 cup nut of your choice (optional- I left this out this time)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Measure oats into a large bowl and add in nuts if you are using them. In a medium bowl, whisk together honey, mashed banana, applesauce, salt, cinnamon until well combined and smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the oats and stir until evenly coated. Spread mixture evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake at 352F for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the granola. Bake for 15 more minutes. Cool for about 15 minutes and then add in fruit and chocolate chips. Stir or toss to combine.