Pumpkin Pie Granola

Hey sisters! I'm posting, so you all can get off my butt now. I love granola, but it's so hard to find ANY at the grocery store that's actually good for you, even if it claims that it's "healthy." Even most of the "healthy" granola recipes that I could find had a large amount of butter and oil in them. I was elated when I found this recipe that uses pureed pumpkin and apple sauce in place of any butter or oil. It does have some sugar in it, but I used stevia (like the recipe calls for), and it's not an overwhelming amount so I felt just fine about it. I've stored mine in a ziploc bag and it's still crunchy and delicious. I eat mine with cut up banana slices and some almond milk...Mmmm mmm. Oh yeah, and it's VEGAN too!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups old fashioned rolled oats (use gluten free if you're sensitive to gluten)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 cup sugar substitute of choice (or 1-2 tsp stevia or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cups pumpkin
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 3 tablespoons sugar free maple syrup, or honey, or agave nectar (I used honey because that's what I had)
• Optional add-ins: 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, 1 cup honey teddy grahams lightly crushed

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry using a spatula, (or your hands), until everything is well combined and oats are coated with wet ingredients.

2. Place granola on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, then stir granola around. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the granola is golden brown and is crisp. Take the granola out of the oven, and let it cool completely on the baking sheet. Stir in additional white chocolate chips or teddy grahams at this point if desired. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Link to dashingdish blog