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This Pumpkin Spice Granola is full of pumpkin flavor and loaded with pecans, pepitas, dried cranberries, and homemade pumpkin pie spice. Perfect for a quick breakfast as a topping on yogurt or afternoon snack. So bake up a batch this fall season and you can easily use it to make granola bars or granola cookies.
If your looking to try some other tasty varieties here is a recipe for my Cranberry Almond Granola or Cherry Superfood Granola.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Spice Granola
Dry Ingredients
- Oats are a whole grain that are high in fiber and available in their natural whole form, or as quick oats, which are finely cut and pre-cooked.
- Coconut is the fruit of palm trees found in tropical regions, that comes either unsweetened or sweetened and in various forms, such as coconut flakes, shredded or finely shredded.
- Pepita Seeds, are pumpkin seeds with shells removed that have a mild, nutty flavor and can be eaten raw.
- Flax seeds are the unprocessed seeds of the flax plant that come in brown or golden varieties, and are available whole or ground into a fine flaxseed meal.
- Brown sugar is granulated sugar combined with molasses, sold as either light brown sugar (with 3.5% molasses) or dark brown sugar (with 6.5% molasses) for a more robust flavor.
- Pink salt is a type of rock salt found near the Himalayas, that contains trace minerals and is less processed than table salt.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice is a blend of warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
Wet Ingredients
- Honey is produced by honeybees from the nectar of flowers that is considered an unrefined natural sugar.
- Canola oil is perfect for baking as it has a neutral and light flavor.
- Vanilla provides hints of caramel and spice, enhancing the depth of flavor to baked goods. The best quality is an all-natural and made from real vanilla beans containing at least 35% alcohol.
- Pumpkin purée is made from the inside of pumpkins that has been cooked and mashed. It’s different from canned pumpkin pie filling, which is sweetened and contains warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
Mix-Ins
- Dried cranberries are tart dehydrated berries that lend natural sweetness and vibrant color to baked goods.
- Pecans are a tree nut that grown on pecan trees in the United States and Mexico. They add texture and sweet nuttiness flavor to baked goods.
Make your own ingredients
Vanilla: Purchase Grade B vanilla beans (also called extract-grade), which have less moisture and a more concentrated flavor. Place 8 oz. of bourbon (or vodka) in glass bottle or jar. Split 5 – 7 vanilla beans down the middle and add to bottle. Store in a cool, dark place for 3 – 6 months before using. It will keep for many years, so as you use it, just top off with more bourbon and more beans.
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Dietary Substitutions
Making granola can be very versatile and you can basically swap out the ingredients to fit your dietary needs.
For the oil, you can substitute out really any oil that works for your dietary needs. Coconut oil or butter also work great in this recipe.
If you need to avoid certain types of nuts like tree nuts, swap out the almonds and coconut with peanuts or seeds like sunflower seeds or hemp seeds.
If you have a tree nut allergy, this is a list of them to avoid: almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, chestnuts and coconut.
You can substitute out the pecans for other nuts like almonds or walnuts.
Pumpkin Spice Granola
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 2 c. whole grain oats
- 1 c. quick oats
- 1 c. pepitas (pumpkin seeds) whole
- 1 c. unsweetened coconut flakes
- 2 T. flax seeds
- 2 T. brown sugar
- 1 T. Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 tsp. salt
WET INGREDIENTS
- ½ c. pumpkin puree
- ½ c. oil
- ½ c. honey or maple syrup
- 1 T. vanilla
MIX-INS
- 1 ½ c. dried cranberries
- 1 ½ c. pecans whole and rough chop pieces
Instructions
PREP
- Gather equipment. Pre-heat oven to 325°. Grease or line a cookie sheet with parchment.
- Rough chop the pecans and set aside.
GRANOLA
- In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, oil, honey and vanilla and pour over the dry ingredients.
- Pour granola into a thin layer onto baking sheet. Press down into an even layer.
BAKE
- Bake granola at 325° for 20 minutes.
ADD MIX-INS
- Remove from oven, stir and toss in the dried cranberries and press down. Return to oven for 10 additional minutes.
- Let cool on the pan then break into pieces. Store in an air-tight container.
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