I cannot tell a lie: This was originally intended to be a cookie recipe. (For those of you following on Twitter, sorry for the tempting picture!) But truth be told, I’m not much of a baker, and the cookies were a failure.

So what’s a girl to do? Improvise, of course! One thing cooking has taught me is that the more time you spend in the kitchen, the more you’re able to just figure it out and use your instincts with recipes. So that’s what I did—I shifted some ingredients around, extended the bake time and turned dry, blah cookies into crunchy, yummy granola. Enjoy by the handful as a snack, mix with yogurt for breakfast or top your favorite ice cream for a decadent dessert!

Five-Grain Chocolate Raisin Granola
Makes 15 servings (serving size is 1/4 of a cup)

3 cups Old Wessex Five Grain Cereal, uncooked. (Oatmeal is a fine substitution.)
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup apple sauce, unsweetened
5 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup  honey or maple syrup
1 tsp . baking soda
1/3 cup almonds, chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat over to 375 degrees and lightly coat a baking sheet with vegetable oil or non-stick spray. In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients (except nuts, raisins and chocolate chips) and mix well. In a smaller mixing bowl, add wet ingredients and mix well. Combine wet and dry ingredients together and then fold in nuts, raisins and chocolate chips. Roll mixture into a ball and place on baking sheet. Press out mixture to an even rectangle. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove and cool. (It will become harder as it cools.) Then, roughly chop into small granola-size pieces and then return to oven for additional 10 mins. Let cool. Store in airtight container.

Per serving: 259 Calories, 8g Fat, 3g Sat. Fat, Cholesterol 10mg, Sodium 45mg, Carbs 45g, Dietary Fiber 5g, Protein 5g

Maura Manzo is a health coach and yoga instructor at RYAH Yoga and Health inConshohocken.  To learn more about her classes and workshops, visit mauramanzo.com or ryahyoga.com. Read her full bio here.

Miss our previous recipes? Check ‘em out:
• Big-Kid Breakfast Sandwich
• Veggie Sushi Rolls
• Spicy Tortilla Soup
• Pumpkin-Seed Sweet Potato Fries
• I-Can’t-Believe-It’s-Not-Spaghetti Spaghetti
• Spinach Salad with Figs and Goat Cheese
• Roasted Turkey Breast with Grilled Apples
• Spiced Skinny Cocktail