crock-pot granola

emily absolutely loves this cookbook called "Not your mother's slow-cooker cookbook" and i found it at the library here and have fallen in love with it as well. i am amazed at the amount of concoctions you can make in a crock-pot...and granola was just one of them. i haven't tried this one yet, however, i just bought the remaining ingredients on saturday when we went to logan. so hopefully this week, i can try it out.

wet ingredients:
3/4 c pure maple syrup
1/2 c water
1/4 c firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 c canola oil or sunflower seed oil

Dry ingredients:
6 c old-fashioned rolled oats
1 c raw sunflower seeds
1/2 c raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 c raw oat bran

1 c honey-toasted wheat germ (4 oz)
1 1/2 c sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 c chopped dried apricots (i will not be adding these)
3 TB raw sesame seeds

1. Put wet ingredients in slow-cooker and set on HIGH. Warn the mixture, uncovered, for 30 minutes to melt the honey; stir with whisk to combine well.

2. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir to evenly distribute. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the warm mixture; stir until evenly moistened with a heat-resistant spatula or wooden spoon. Slowly add the remaining dry ingredients, stirring constantly so that all of it is evenly moistened. Continue to cook on HIGH, uncovered, for exactly 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.

3. Turn the cooker to LOW, cover, and cook until the granola is dry and a very light golden color, 4-6 hours. Stir every hour or so for even cooking. When done, it will slide off a spoon or spatula.

4. While the granola is hot, stir in the wheat germ, cranberries, apricots, and sesame seeds. Let cool completely; the mixture will become crispier as it cools. Transfer to a tightly covered container, where it will keep for up to a month....if it's not gone before then.