Cranberry Pumpkin Granola

I can’t remember the last time I made granola, which means it has been way to long! With an overabundance of rolled oats at the moment I decided an autumn-inspired granola would be just the thing to use them up.

After seeing a variety of granola recipes online and in cookbooks that called for about a ½ cup of oil or butter, I decided to half that and replace part of it with pumpkin puree. This was from thawed, frozen puree I’m still using up from late last winter so it had a very thin consistency.

The sweetener of choice was maple syrup which worked out great. I didn’t add any other sweetener, but the dried cranberries I used were sweetened with sugar.

Once baked and browned, this granola has a spiced, slightly sweet flavor with a nutty background from the walnuts, pecans and sunflower seeds. We’ve been eating it up as a snack, cereal and yogurt topping, and after enjoying it so much I think it may be worthy of food gift status this holiday season!

Cranberry Pumpkin Granola

¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup pumpkin puree
½ cup maple syrup
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds
2/3 cup dried cranberries
½ cup chopped nuts (I used pecans and walnuts)
½ cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp finely ground sea salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. In a saucepan, melt together the butter, pumpkin and maple syrup. Cook on medium for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl combine the oats, sunflower seeds, cranberries, nuts and coconut. Pour in the maple syrup mixture and stir to coat all the ingredients. Add the spices and salt and stir to incorporate.

Grease two medium sized baking sheets with butter. Divide the granola on the two sheets and spread evenly in a single layer. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Rotate pans on the oven rack as needed. Remove from the oven once dried and browned. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to a week. Makes about 6 cups.