Pumpkin Spice Granola

Happy Friday! My apologies for my delinquency in posting last Friday--no good excuses, I just lost track of time before we had to leave for the retreat! Hopefully you'll pardon my neglect of the clock...Anyway, on with today's recipe:

I am SO excited about this granola. For starters, it smelled AMAZING while it was baking; I was nearly won just by the scent! Secondly, I've been searching for the perfect homemade granola recipe for a long time now, and finally, I think this is it! I think I can easily omit the seasonal spices and swap the maple and pumpkin for honey and a bit of oil to make it a year-round recipe. It's the first granola I've made that actually clusters together, is crispy without becoming burnt, and is perfectly sweet! It does contain a bit more sugar than most recipes I've used in the past, but for me, this is just right! Delicious over yogurt, with cold milk, or by the handful--Abe and I have been snacking on it all morning long!

Pumpkin Spice Granola

Ingredients:

3 ½ cups rolled oats
2 ½ cups puffed rice cereal
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
¾ tsp. salt
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup applesauce
¼ cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
up to 1 ½ cups chopped nuts (I used slivered almonds)
up to 1 cup dried fruit (I used golden raisins)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine oats and puffed rice cereal. In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin pie spice, salt, sugar, pumpkin puree, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk until very smooth. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until the oat mixture is evenly coated. Spread on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer.

Bake for 30 minutes. Then turn over the granola using a large, wide spatula. Sprinkle the nuts onto the granola and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until crisp and golden. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, the center may not be fully dried if your granola layer is thick, so if necessary remove the edges of the cooked granola and let the rest cook until done, 10-15 more minutes. Cool on pan or on a fine wire rack.

Break up granola as desired and toss with dried fruit. Store in an airtight container.

Source: Annie's Eats