THEORETICALLY, THIS MIXTURE will keep for about 1 month at room temperature or for about 6 months in the refrigerator—but I have not been able to fully test this out, for obvious reasons. You can play around with the ingredients, using different nuts or different dried fruit, or you can substitute M&M’s for some or all of the chocolate chips. The corn syrup is essential for creating clusters of nuts and oats.

MAKES ABOUT 12 CUPS

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups rolled (old-fashioned) oats
• 2 cups walnut pieces
• 1 cup pecan pieces
• 1 cup hulled sunflower seeds
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup light or golden corn syrup
• ⅓ cup canola or grapeseed oil
• ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce bag (2 cups) semisweet chocolate morsels
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup dried cherries or cranberries

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a large shallow roasting pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, and salt. Mix well.
3. In a large glass measuring cup, combine the corn syrup, oil, and brown sugar. Cover and heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Or combine in a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until the mixture is quite liquid and warm to the touch. Stir in the vanilla.
4. Stir the syrup mixture into the oat mixture and mix well. Spread out in the pan.
5. Roast for about 40 minutes, until the mix is golden, stirring occasionally for even cooking. Do not let the mix get too dark, and stir frequently during the final 15 minutes to prevent scorching the mix at the sides of the pan.
6. Let the mixture cool undisturbed. As the oats and nuts cool, they will clump together.
7. Break up the mixture into bite-size morsels. Transfer to a large bowl. Mix in the chocolate morsels, raisins, and cherries.
8. Store in an airtight container.