A while ago I ran across Nigella Lawson's recipe for granola, which replaces oil with apple sauce. The next time I made granola, I tried this substitution, using a few apples chopped and cooked until soft rather than jarred sauce. I found that the cooked apples make the perfect adherent - they create large, crunchy clumps of oats, give the granola a subtle sweetness, and make unpleasantly oily oats a thing of the past.

Since then, this method has become my standard. I've also tried using nectarines instead of apples, which works great since they cook down so quickly. I imagine that any stone fruit would work equally well. I've found that three to four apples or nectarines make enough fruit sauce for about eight cups of oats. To that I add a half-cup to a cup of brown sugar, a few handfuls of flax, sunflower, pumpkin and/or sesame seeds, and a couple cups of nuts. After toasting this mixture in the oven at 250 degrees until it is golden-brown and crisp, I mix in dried fruits.

So far, my favorite combination is dried unsweetened cherries and pecans. Cashews, almonds, raisins and cranberries are other common additions. I often add cinnamon, nutmeg or other spices as well.