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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!

25 chews:

Scrrrrrrumptious!

Oh my oh my, this looks so yummy! I may have to bake some pumpkin break at the same time, so I don't have to wait a full day while that amazing smell taunts me. Thanks for the recipe, this looks like it would be lovely for the holidays, and would even make a nice gift!

Ang said...

I'm going to try to make this over the weekend! I hope my store has candied ginger. I LOVE ginger. Thanks for sharing! :)

Natalie said...

oh wow! this sounds awesome! i've been meaning to try and make granola...and this may have finally convinced me to bite the bullet.

great recipe, thanks :)

How exciting that you guys are going to meet in person next month!! :)

I never would have thought to add pumpkin to granola, but this looks so good. Love, love the ginger here too.

Tori said...

This looks glorious... I can't wait to try it!

Jennifer said...

Oh YUMMM!!!!! I love pumpkin spice granola I cant wait to make this!!

So fun you both are meeting up!!

Yum! Always looking for new granola recipes... and pumpkin right around now sounds great! (as I say with pumpkin spice latte beside me)

Jenny said...

oh la la, that is some foinnnne looking 'nola!

Oh! That's pretty smart. This gets ideas bouncing in the head...

Pam said...

Bookmarked. My kids will really, really love this, actually, so will I.

Steph said...

Other than the 1 cup of oil (eek!) that I see in some recipes, I never knew that wet ingredients could be added to granola. I always thought it would never dry up. This is great because I love pumpkin!!

Velva said...

Oh wow, that looks really good. Healthy too!

Let us know how your meeting with Jeanne goes! It is so wonderful to be able to connect to so many wonderful people.

Megan said...

It does seem like a lot of ginger but I have a ton to use up! I LOVE all things pumpkin and I'm thinking I'll have to give this a try.

workouteatin said...

This recipe is the first one I've seen that has actually made me stray from Tyler's Ultimate Granola.
I have a batch of this in the oven right now and I am so excited to try it (hopefully I'll be able to wait until tomorrow morning)!
And added benefit - my place smells heavenly right now.

gaga said...

While I'm not happy about the colder weather that comes with fall, I am happy about all the wonderful flavors. Pumpkin granola is a great idea!

Natalie said...

This granola looks so good! I LOVE granola and usually eat all of it, which makes me mad the next time I want some :) Using pumpkin in granola sounds perfect for Fall, and different!

Anonymous said...

This pumpkin granola sounds fantastic especially with the crystallized ginger, yum!

Special K said...

Please please please announce my un-bake off giveaway and enter...you are a goddess, please help me out! I am desperate here!
Protein Bagels are coming your way...
How'd you like those Crackers? Can you bake some crumble with um?
:) Special K

Yummy! This looks really good--I've been wanting to try and make my own granola!

Yummy! This looks really good--I've been wanting to try and make my own granola!

Special K said...

Please please please announce my un-bake off giveaway and enter...you are a goddess, please help me out! I am desperate here!
Protein Bagels are coming your way...
How'd you like those Crackers? Can you bake some crumble with um?
:) Special K

Oh! That's pretty smart. This gets ideas bouncing in the head...

Ang said...

I'm going to try to make this over the weekend! I hope my store has candied ginger. I LOVE ginger. Thanks for sharing! :)

Jennifer said...

Oh YUMMM!!!!! I love pumpkin spice granola I cant wait to make this!!

So fun you both are meeting up!!

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