Thursday, December 13, 2018

Easy Applesauce Granola (Gluten Free and Vegan)



I make (and EAT!) a lot of granola.  A LOT!  My favorite recipe calls for pumpkin puree.  I love the recipe for the flavors and textures, but also for the ease of preparation.  With the pumpkin granola, the directions specify you bake the granola in the oven for 10 minutes and then turn the oven off.  Leave the granola in the oven all night long... no peeking.  By morning, you have perfectly toasted granola and you don't have to be bothered by stirring and monitoring the granola while baking to ensure the granola does not burn.  

The problem with the pumpkin granola is that it calls for only a small amount of pumpkin puree so I am often left with lots of canned pumpkin and I have to come up with a use for it.  I do love pumpkin muffins and pumpkin cookies and pumpkin pancakes.... you get the idea. But I am not always needing or wanting to bake a gob of other goodies just because I opened up a can of pumpkin.  

The little gears started churning in my brain and I decided to make the pumpkin granola with applesauce instead.  It worked well. I switched up the ingredients based upon things I had on hand. I ordinarily have a drawer in my refrigerator which is pretty much dedicated to granola ingredients.  Flax meal, coconut, raw seeds, and raw nuts.  My drawer is nearly empty so this granola is very basic.  Feel free to swap ingredients as you like.  Use different nuts, leave out the chia or sesame seeds, add in unsweetened coconut.  What you have to keep in mind is that it is a ratio of dry good to wet ingredients.  You are basically giving the dry ingredients a slightly sweet coating and then roasting it all in the oven to dry it out. The recipe calls for pumpkin pie spice.  I've never purchased pumpkin pie spice but I have a container in my pantry where I've combined spices to make up pumpkin pie spice. If you do a Google search, you will find dozens of recipes to make up your own pumpkin pie spice.

Know that this granola is not a sweet granola and the granola is rather loose (it doesn't have clumps or clusters).  If you want your granola to be sweeter, I recommend you add a few tablespoons of brown sugar to the dry ingredients.



EASY APPLESAUCE GRANOLA (Gluten Free and Vegan)

DRY ingredients:

4 1/2 cups old fashioned/rolled oats
2 cups finely sliced almonds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
pinch of salt

WET ingredients:
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
4 ounce cup of unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large cookie tray (17" x 11" x 1") with parchment paper. 



In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (the first 6 ingredients: the oats through the salt).



In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the coconut oil. It should take about 30 seconds on 100 percent (HIGH) power. Add in the applesauce, maple syrup, and vanilla to the coconut oil.  Cook an additional 30 seconds in the microwave on 100 percent (HIGH) power. Stir well to combine.

Add the applesauce mixture to the oat mixture and stir well with a big spoon to coat the dry ingredients. Poor the coated oats into the lined cookie tray. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. DO NOT open the oven. Turn oven OFF and leave the granola in the warm oven over night to continue toasting all night long. 



Alternatively, you can do what I did today:  make the granola in the morning, bake for 10 minutes and then let it sit in the oven all day long. 



Store the granola in air tight containers or plastic zip closure bag. 



Granola makes a great gift!

How do you enjoy your granola?

Here is one of my favorites (I have this for breakfast several times of week, but I also enjoy this as a dessert or a snack).  1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese, a sprinkle of ground cinnamon, topped with granola.  Easy and yummy!




No comments: