Fennel-Honey Granola

Granola is not just for breakfast. With ice cream season just around the corner this is the perfect topping for your frozen treats. Of course you could just eat it for breakfast but also try it on yogurt for a snack
This recipe comes from Bon Appetit the June 2015 edition.

Country Life has great prices on nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and oats, click on the item highlighted for the link to their web site.

Servings: 12
Oven: 350 degrees
Bake: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:
1/3 c. pine nuts
1/3 c. raw sunflower seeds (organic and roasted are available)
1/4 c. slivered almonds
1 T. sesame seeds
2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 c. honey
3 T. smooth peanut butter
3 T. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
1 T. orange juice
1 T. vanilla extract
2 c. old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. dried apricots, chopped (the unsulfered our fantastic)
1/2 c. sweetened dried cranberries chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toast the pine nuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, sesame seeds, and fennel seeds on a  baking sheet with a rim. Toss occasionally until lightly golden brown about 5-7 minutes. remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees.
2. In a medium size bowl mix the honey, peanut butter, oil, orange zest, and juice and vanilla until smooth. Add the nut mixture, oats, and salt to the bowl and toss coating evenly.
3. Spread the mixture out on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring halfway through. The edges of the mixture will brown before the middle does. Bake about 20-25 minutes until everything is golden brown.
4. Let the granola cool, as it cools it will crisp up. Break up granola into pieces and stir in the apricots and cranberries.
5. This will keep at room temperature in a tightly covered container for a week. I keep mine in the fridge and it's good for several weeks.

Break out your ice cream makers and give this a try.