The secret to this granola's ultimate crispiness? Leaving it out on the counter for a couple hours.
Granola. Cereal's older, chunkier, and supposedly "healthier" cousin. I say "supposedly" because most granolas at your local store are just as bad(if not worse) than their boxed-cereal counterparts. Most granolas come with (you guessed it) tons of added sugar, oil, and, worst of all, preservatives. This makes them basically glorified cereal.
However, there are alternatives. Like this simple pumpkin spiced granola that you can whip up in no time at home! Of course, it does contain sugar, but since that sugar's coming from maple syrup, molasses, and honey, it at least retains some nutritional value. That being said, sugar is still sugar. So don't eat the whole thing(although I'm sure you'll want to!)
Spiced Pumpkin Granola
Course: Snack/Breakfast
Author: Prachi Marfatia
Servings: makes 4 cups of granola
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups oats
1/2 cup nuts(I used walnuts and pecan halves)
6 tbsp sweetener of choice(maple syrup, molasses, honey)
1/2 pumpkin puree, fresh or canned
a pinch of sesame/poppy seeds(optional)
4-5 tbsp ghee, safflower, olive, or coconut oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves, crushed
1-2 tsp ginger powder(optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F(180° C). In a bowl, combine the nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ginger powder, salt, nuts, seeds if using, and oats(all the dry ingredients). In another bowl, combine the pumpkin puree with the oil and maple syrup/honey/molasses. Now add the dry ingredients into the wet in three batches, stirring well to combine. Now oil or parchment-line a tray, spread the mixture over it evenly, and bake for 15 minutes. Keep reading though, we're not done yet! After the inital 15 minutes of baking, take it out and mix it up a little, breaking some pieces that may have stuck together. Then bake for about 5-10 more minutes. Careful not to burn it, or it won't be sweet! Don't worry if it isn't fully crispy at this stage. Take it out of the oven and leave it on the counter(or better, in the turned-off oven) for a few hours to crisp up. Then serve over milk, yogurt, smoothies, whatever your heart desires. Probably straight out of the jar, though.
Enjoy!
note: this does not need to be refrigerated. I stored mine in a glass jar shown in the picture below, but feel free to put it in any container in a cool, dry, place.
