Pumpkin Ginger Spice Granola by Jeanne

Jeanne and I met about a year ago, it was for a cookie and ornament exchange (totally fate bringing us together). Here is what she sent me. She is seriously the most genuine and kind person you will ever meet, and I'm so excited to say I'll be meeting her in person in a little over a month!!! (she lives in SF and I'll be there for the foodbuzz festival) Over the past year we've had so much fun exchanging emails and realizing more and more how much alike we are! Same birthday (1 year apart), curly hair, the love of baking something for someone who isn't having a good day, crochet/knit crafty stuff, our love of the outdoors! We are like two peas in a pod, twins one might even say! So now I turn it over to Jeanne and her amazing granola!!

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Back at the beginning of September Steph did a post about pumpkin muffins and although I didn't realize it at the time that's what inspiring this recipe. All I remember thinking is, "Pumpkin? Already? Does that mean that summer is over?" (Really. Check the comments.) And although part of me was sad to see summer go, I started to get excited about autumn food. Who doesn't love a good squash?

And so without really realizing why, I started to look for a new pumpkin recipe to try. Before now I've made pumpkin muffins, pies, cakes, pancakes, cookies, soups and... I even made a chili once. (It was gross. I don't recommend it.) But as I considered all these recipes, none of those seemed quite right for what I wanted to make.

Then one morning over a bowl of Trader Joe Ginger Granola, wondering when the TJ pumpkin granola would hit the shelves, I came up with the best idea: I'd make my own Pumpkin Granola recipe! So I did! I scoured the internet, learning how to make granola. Then I threw in all of my favorite ingredients.

And I loved the result! I cut the sugar way down, so it's not overly sweet like the granola you get in the store, but the hint of pumpkin, the kick of ginger and the delicious spice make this the perfect thing to start a fall morning. I loved it so much that I wanted to share it!

That's where Steph comes in. She's graciously allowed me to share it with you. I sent her the recipe a while back. Her response? "I like candied ginger... but that seems like a TON! lol candied ginger in my breakfast granola... I don't know... "


Trust me Steph. It's fab. In my opinion, it's not enough candied ginger!
But that's up to you. The great thing about granola? You can make tons of substitutions and I'm sure it'll still turn out okay. But, this is what I did:


Pumpkin Ginger Spice Granola
Preheat oven to 325F.

Mix the dry ingredients.
2 1/2 Cups Rolled Oats
2 Cups Steel Cut Oats (If you don't have this, just use rolled oats)
1 Cup Almonds, coarsely chopped or slivered
1 Cup Walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds
2/3 Cup Crystallized Ginger, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Ginger
1 tsp Nutmeg, freshly grated
1/2 tsp Cloves
1/2 tsp Allspice

Add in wet ingredients:
16 oz Pumpkin Puree
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
2 Tbsp Oil
Mix until thoroughly combined and everything is moist. Put mixture on cookie sheets and bake for a total of 1hr. Stir mixture every 10-15 minutes.

When 10 min remain in cooking time, add:
1 Cup Golden Raisins

Take it out of the oven and ... don't chow. Sorry. Wait for it to cool and store in bags/Tupperware. After a day has gone by the flavor settles and it's TONS better. So it you can resist eating what has created the amazing smell in your kitchen wait 'til the next morning.
Then (just for you Steph) CHOW!