A woman and I were talking about foods we enjoyed that are made with pumpkin. Pumpkin praline pie came up. And I thought wouldn't a pumpkin praline granola taste wonderful on a cold autumn morning. In response, this is what I came up with.
Taste it before spreading in the baking pan. If not sweet or spicy enough, add some maple syrup (to sweeten) and/or additional cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Stir well, then spread in your pan. (I tend to like mine a little less sweet.)
Pumpkin Praline Granola
1/3 cup (80 g) butter or margarine
1/2 cup (90 g) brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) maple flavoring
1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) salt
1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) ginger
1/2 cup (105 g) canned, pureed pumpkin (if you use home-cooked pumpkin, strain it in a sieve for 1 to 2 hours before measuring)
3 cups (270 g) regular rolled oats
1/2 cup (75 g) chopped pecans (if buying from a bulk bin, about 1/6th of a pound)
- In a medium-size, microwaveable bowl, place butter, brown sugar, maple flavoring, salt. Microwave until the butter is melted.
- Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Thoroughly blend in pumpkin. Toss with oats. Stir in pecans.
- Butter a large sheet pan with raised edges (jelly roll pan). Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (162 C). Spread granola mixture evenly in pan.
- Bake for 15 minutes, stir to move granola from edges and corners to center and granola in center to the edges.
- Bake 15 more minutes, stir again.
- Bake 10 minutes, stir. At this point, check the pecans. Are they toasty looking? The granola will still be chewy, and will crisp up when cooled. I use an insulated baking sheet. And in our oven, this granola needs just a tad more cooking. Yours may not. But if it does --
- Bake 5 more minutes, stir.
- Allow to cool completely, before transferring to a storage container. It will get crisp when it has cooled. I just keep mine in a jar on the counter and it gets eaten up in about 3 days. You could also store in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 7-10 days, or freeze and use within 6-8 weeks.
If you want to add some dried fruit, you could add about 1/2 cup, or so, of date pieces. Don't bake them into the granola, but stir them in after baking.
I love this granola, as is, but also as a topping for yogurt, with dried fruit added. The combination makes a complete meal for me, keeping me fueled with protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats until the early afternoon.
I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do!
