Let’s talk granola.
Granola from the grocery store can be fairly expensive when you break down the ingredient list. This isn’t really a problem, until I realize that I really, really, like to eat granola in my yogurt.
As the girl that’s been known to have an on going Single Girl In Kitchen Situation sometimes food theories intimidate me. I guess, really, by food theories, I kind of mean cooking, baking, tossing, constructing, processing, or any other present tense verb that takes place with in the walls of my kitchen. Actually, I suppose it’s recipes that intimidate me. Especially recipes for things I know I can purchase at the grocery store all put together and stuff; such as granola.
Last week, I decided to bite the “trying new things” bullet and make my own granola. I used this recipe from Julie and made substitutions where necessary, based on what was already in my pantry and what was on sale at the corner store. The results were so amazing that I decided to spend some time creating other granola recipes on my own for further consumption with other ingredients.
A funny thing happened on the way out of the kitchen; Julie and I realized we both made pumpkin flavored granola to share on our blogs today! How awesome is that?! Great Blends think alike! Check out her Savvy Pumpkin Spice Granola recipe, too; we plan to have a taste off when we see each other next month.
THS Pumpkin Spice Granola
Ingredients
4 C old fashioned oats
1 C pumpkin seeds
2 T ground flax seeds
1/2 C + 2 T maple syrup
2 T honey
1/4 C almond butter
1/4 C + 2 T pumpkin puree
1 T cinnamon
1 T nutmeg
2/3 C raisins
Directions
- Preheat Oven to 350. In a 9 x 13 baking dish, mix together oats, pumpkin seeds, and flax.
-In a small sauce pan, stir together maple syrup, honey, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Heat on Medium, stirring often, until it begins to boil.
-Remove from heat and add to the oats mixture. Stir until all dry ingredients are coated.
-Bake for 15 minutes. [SGIKS Note: There are a lot of things you could do for the 15 minuets while the granola is baking. Read a few pages of a book. Flip through a magazine. Brush your hair. Use said brush to sing like a Glee star into the mirror. Do the dishes. Etc.]
-Remove from oven and stir in raisins. Return to bake for an additional 15 minutes. [SGIKS Note: Encore.] Remove from oven and allow to cool.
I have no idea why I was intimidated. Take it from me granola is not scary. Granola is yummy. Lesson learned.
[...] spice granola recipe at the same time, and found out when we were g-chatting later on Saturday. Check out her recipe here! Stumble this [...]
Well you’ve given me inspiration, but perhaps I am too lazy to try this out! Homemade is just so much better than store bought.
I love making my own granola! It’s great because you can put anything you want in there! I like adding chocolate chips, too but you have to make sure you put those in at the wayyy end so they don’t get too melty. Love this recipe!
This looks FANTASTIC! I love pumpkin and have most of these ingredients in my house. Score!
One of my favorite things about granola is that I usually have what I need in my apartment! If I don’t have enough maple syrup, I can use honey, or agave. I can use PB, or AB, or any number of pureed things. And the mix in toppings? It’s the perfect thing to make when the cabinets need cleaning of all those bins filled with a quarter cup of this or that!
“Sometimes food theories intimidate me.”
ME TOO.
Can we make this into a slogan? And print it on t-shirts? On the back we can put “this justifies me taking pictures of everything I cook and posting them on the Internet.”
This looks delish, Heather! Granola def isn’t scary! It’s basically like chili – as long as you’re on the right track and like all the ingredients going in, it’ll probably turn out good:)
Well, granola is still scary to ME. When I made a batch for the first time, it was too crumbly and dry for normal consumption. Not sure what I did wrong… too much wheat bran, not enough wet stuff???
Love making granola, yours looks delish! Perfect for the fall, must give it a try! Thanks for sharing!
I really do love granola. And I too love it in my yogurt! Usually though I shy away from granola because of the calorie content. Though I really think I need to rethink this. If you make it yourself it is so much better for you and I can make it healthier!
Thanks Heather!
[...] Pumpkin Granola [...]
[...] the soup was simmering I also whipped up half a batch of Heather’s Pumpkin Spiced Granola. I made a few changes based on my tastes. I used oats, ground flax and pumpkin seeds like [...]
[...] I am doing the laundry (job I “have” to do) and making pumpkin spiced almond butter and pumpkin spiced granola. I am still not sick of pumpkin! I also stopped at the Co-Op after church and bought some [...]
[...] Today’s featured healthy snack recipe is Heather’s Pumpkin Spice Granola! [...]
My husband eats granola like it’s his job, so I make a double batch every weekend. It usually doesn’t last the week. Yes, he has a great metabolism that I’m highly jealous of.
This looks like a great version. I love that you can make it so many different ways. Granola never gets boring!
This looks and sounds amazing! I love making homemade granola because there are so many different varieties that you can make. Pumpkin spice sounds delish!
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