Mine? Right now?  Not at all.  Well, except for herbs.  Despite the planting of chard, peppers, and brussel sprouts late in 2016, my garden has only managed to produce 1 little pepper.  Which is a problem when you have an upcoming garden swap.  Hmm… what to swap…?

In this case, my freezer was my savior.  In the freezer, I always have bags of nuts that I get on sale.  Almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc.  I just happened to recently get two big bags of almonds and pecans, so those would be the basis of my swap.  I also just happened to have a lot of left over oatmeal from my last oatmeal cookie baking day.

Nuts + Oats = GRANOLA!

Given that this was all made possible by my oatmeal cookies, I figured why not embrace that flavor?  Oatmeal Cookie Granola it is!   Having never made Granola, I was worried it may not work out.  But I crossed my fingers, popped the mix in the oven, and out came the most glorious, crunchy, not too sweet treat I’ve ever had.  All it needed was some cute packaging.

Swap Mission Accomplished:  8 bags of granola and 1 perfect little prized pepper to share with my neighbors.

The granola was a hit, but I was pretty proud of both items if I’m being honest.

Oatmeal Cookie Granola

• 1 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c honey
• 2/3 oil
• 3 Tbsp vanilla
• 7 c oats
• 2 tsp cinnamon (heaping)
• 1 tsp nutmeg (heaping)
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 c almonds
• 2 c pecans
• 3 c dried cranberries
• 12 oz bag of chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, honey, oil and vanilla, and heat to melt the sugar, but don’t boil.

In a large bowl, combine oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, almonds and pecans and stir to combine.  Pour the sugar mix over the oat mix and stir to combine (all the oats should have some glaze).  Put on two large sheet pans lined with parchment or a silpat.  Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.

Allow to cool, and toss while cooling to prevent sticking, then put the mix back in a large bowl.  Mix in the cranberries and chocolate.

Makes tons to share.