I love the pumpkin granola I made last week however when Brenda tried it she wasn’t a fan. Not being a huge pumpkin fan she suggested I make a different kind for her. I searched and searched the internet for a good granola recipe without pumpkin but every recipe I found called for oil. Lots of oils. It just grossed me out, I didn’t want to cook something that was suppose to be healthy with so much oil. So I kept looking and finally found a recipe that replaces the oil with apple sauce. I cooked up a batch for Brenda and before she came to pick it up, Ichiro and I sampled it. And sampled some more and some more. It was SOOO good. I think our next batch of granola might be this one. The best part of this recipe is that you can mix and match different fruits and nuts to make any type of granola you want.
Honey-Apple-Cinnamon Granola
5 cups rolled oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup plain applesauce
1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
about 1 1/2 cups almond slivers
about 1 cup dried cranberries
Nut suggestions: almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, etc
Dried fruit suggestions: cranberries, raisins, apricots, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.
Preheat the oven to 325F and line a large baking sheet (or two smaller sheets) with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine oats and spices. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, applesauce, honey and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients along with almonds and stir to combine. Spread on prepared baking sheet(s) in an even layer.
Bake for 30 minutes, then turn over the granola carefully using a large wide spatula, and bake for additional 15 minutes, until crisp and golden. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, the center might not be fully dried if your granola layer is thick, so if necessary remove the edges of the cooked granola to a cooling rack and let the rest cook for another 10-15 minutes until done.
Cool on pan or on a wire rack.
Break granola up as desired and stir in dried fruit. Store in an airtight container.
