Bon Appétempt Goes to Scottsdale

A million thanks to Mary Anne, Adam, and their families for throwing such a beautiful wedding in the desert.

Granola slightly adapted from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day

Note: do not leave out the grated orange zest. It adds such a lovely, delicious, fragrant note to this granola. (I couldn't / wouldn't stop eating it.)

4 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups walnut halves or bits (Heidi's recipe calls for walnut halves, but I used a bag of what was more like quarters and it worked fine.)

1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded large-flake coconut
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2/3 cup dried currants
Grated zest of 2 oranges
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 300F with racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Set out two rimmed baking sheets, (or, if you're like me, an assortment of baking pans that offer the equivalent surface area as two rimmed baking sheets).

Combine the oats, walnuts, coconut, salt, currants and orange zest in a large mixing bowl. Heat the butter in a small saucepan over low heat and stir in the maple syrup. Whisk until thoroughly combined, then pour the maple mixture over the oat mixture until everything is well coated, at least 30 seconds. Divide the mixture equally between the baking sheets and spread into a thin layer.

Bake, stirring a couple of times along the way, for about 40 minutes, or until the granola is toasty and deeply golden. You may want to rotate the pans once, top to bottom, to ensure even baking. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature.