I have the perfect gift for you to spread cheer this holiday season. It’s easy to make, inexpensive and people love it. Plus, they get to eat it! What more could you ask for?

This treat is a great hostess gift for any festivity that you attend, and is also great for the teachers in your life, the UPS guy and anyone else whose holiday season you want to light up. On the flip side of a hostess gift, this is actually a great thing to send home with your guests, too.

My healthy homemade granola recipe is by far the most popular recipe on my blog. It’s so popular that it even comes up in the top one to two spots on a google search for healthy granola.

I got the message: you all love granola and want it to be healthy but also taste delicious. This one delivers all of that, and is holiday themed, too! My holiday version contains green raw pumpkin seeds, white unsweetened coconut and red unsweetened cranberries. Look for unsweetened ingredients to keep the sugar content of this recipe low—it is called Healthy Holiday Granola after all.

Glass mason jars are perfect to store granola and you can wrap or decorate them to your liking. It’s also fun to include a notecard with the recipe. Mason jars are inexpensive, especially when you buy them in boxes of 12 at the hardware store (I use them for everything!)

The recipe below can easily be doubled or tripled to make as much as you need. It goes fast, so I suggest making extra. If you double the recipe, use two baking sheets (triple use three, etc.) to allow it to bake properly. The whole thing will come together in about 20 minutes; just remember to make enough to save for yourself, too.

Healthy Holiday Granola Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Fills 2 quart mason jars with a little left over

wet ingredients

• 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup OR honey (or a combo of the two)
• 1.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt (I use RealSalt brand)

dry ingredients

• 2.5 cups whole rolled oats, preferably organic
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup plus 2 heaping tablespoons dried unsweetened cranberries
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds (unsalted)
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

last ingredient

• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (optional, if you don’t care for coconut leave it out)

Recipe: Preheat the oven to 300° F. Gently heat the coconut oil first to melt it to make it easier to work with. Place all of the wet ingredient in a large glass bowl then add the dry ingredients. Use your clean hands to mix the granola well, coating all of the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Transfer to an even layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before mixing in the coconut flakes and transferring it to mason jars to store. If you’re wondering, the reason I add the coconut after it bakes is to keep it white, otherwise it will toast in the oven.

This granola is great as cereal (I like it with unsweetened almond milk), mixed with berries and Greek yogurt or just eaten by itself.

Big Love & Happy Holidays from MT!