Gingerbread Granola
This is a granola I stumbled upon in a cookbook. I really love all the spices here. As a traditional cook, I had to seek out some of the sweeteners this one calls for, but it's worth the trip to the health section of the grocery store. These more natural sugars don't spike the blood glucose levels like more the highly refined sugars do. I have used the hemp seeds as they are easily accessible at our local Costco warehouse. They provide rich protein and fiber to make this a great breakfast choice. One bowl keeps me satisfied until lunch. I typically triple the batch, because it goes quick!
GINGERBREAD GRANOLA
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1/3 – ½ cups chopped pecans or ¼ cup hemp seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ - 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons cashew butter or almond butter
- 3-4 tablespoons maple syrup, more or less to taste
- ½ tablespoon blackstrap molasses
- ¼ cup brown rice syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, pecans or hemp seeds, spices and salt.
- In another bowl, first combine the nut butter with the maple syrup and molasses, stirring to fully blended. Add the brown rice syrup and vanilla and stir through.
- Transfer mixture to the lined baking sheet and spread out to evenly distribute. Bake for 27-30 minutes, stirring a couple of times throughout baking to ensure the mixture brown evenly.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.
Yield: 4 ½ cups
