Pumpkin, Round 1: Granola

Happy holidays! I am still trying to catch up on recipes from the last couple of months, sorry for the delays!

Back in mid-Fall, I had half a can of pumpkin left over from making the pumpkin cookies, but I didn't want to make just any old pumpkin bread with it. I scanned though my Google Reader and found this gem of a recipe from Sugarcrafter and set out to make this as my next installment of my granola addiction.

Because the pumpkin makes up a good portion of the wet ingredients, this granola is more on the chewy side, and not as crispy-crunchy as other recipes. It's very fragrant and deep flavored, great on yogurt, and it is a good recipe to use up some leftover canned pumpkin.

Pumpkin Spice Granola (adapted from Sugarcrafter)

Ingredients:
4 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup honey

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking pan (8x8 or bigger).

In a large bowl, combine the oats, spices, seeds, and nuts. Stir to distribute spices evenly. In another bowl, combine the honey, pumpkin, and brown sugar, whisking until the brown sugar is moistened and fully incorporated.

Pour pumpkin mixture over dry ingredients and toss with a spatula until evenly distributed. Press the mixture down in the baking pan into an even layer. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Stir the granola and distribute the more browned edges into the center. Press down again into an even thin layer and bake another 15 minutes. The whole mixture should have taken a deeper shade of brown and look drier. If there is still a significant amount of moisture, give everything another flip/stir and return to oven for 10 minute intervals until it's golden brown and toasty.

Cool completely and store in airtight container. This tends to clump together due to the pumpkin's moisture, so it's better to store in the fridge or in a bag in the freezer to preserve crispness and minimize clumping.