Gingerbread Granola

Happy 2015!  Today was the best kind of day. I sleep better than I have the last several days.  I organized our kitchen table (it was starting to resemble a very messy desk), wrote Christmas thank you notes, and put away the Christmas decorations all before I headed out to the gym.  After lunch Mr. J and I headed out to the movies to see Into the Woods. It was a cute movie. I sat thinking about all of the nursery rhythms and stories Mr. J and I are going to learn/remember for our little girl. And although the time went by fast a two hour movies is a bit too long for me to sit.

We came home and I managed to make this granola and a batch of chocolate chunk cookies.   Granola to me is a perfect sweet treat that is healthy.  I am in no condition to be making any kind of weight loss resolutions this year but I figure maybe a bit more healthy snacks on hand couldn't hurt.

I never got around to baking any gingerbread this year. The next best thing (just kidding, I still want some gingerbread with cream cheese frosting) is to mix up my typical granola recipe with a few extra spices and the addition of molasses. The whole house smelled deliciously sweet.  I cannot wait to dig into this tomorrow morning with yogurt and berries.  

Gingerbread Granola

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20-25 minutes

Keywords: bake breakfast cinnamon walnuts pecans winter

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Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup walnuts, halves and pieces raw
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, raw
• 1/4 cup pecan pieces
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 cup coconut
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup Tbsp molasses
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

In a small saucepan over medium low heat, warm the coconut oil, honey, molasses and vanilla extract. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.

Spread the mixture evenly onto a a large baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes, and again after 5 more minutes. After 20 minutes total time watch the granola careful as it can burn quickly at this point.

Once the granola is visibly browned and no longer feels wet remove from the oven and let cool completely on the pan before storing.

Keep in a container that has an air-tight seal and it should keep for a few weeks.

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