Pumpkin Spice Granola

 Pumpkin and its respective spices are so warming. They make me feel like putting on slippers and big sweaters and drinking hot chocolate and pretending I'm still living on the East Coast, waiting for the first snow fall. In reality, I'm living on California's beautiful central coast, completely enjoying the fact that I still wear short sleeves in November. And the only time of year that I actually miss living back east is Fall, when the leaves are golden and red and the air smells fresh and crisp. 

So, what do I do? I bake. A lot. I make biscuits and pumpkin pie. And I bake granola. With pumpkin. Thanksgiving may be over, but the season of putting pumpkin in every single thing I bake isn't. 

Pumpkin Spice Granola

2 cups rolled oats

2 cups spelt flakes

1 cup raisins

3/4 pecans

2/3 sunflower seeds

1/2 cup shredded coconut flakes

1/2 ground flax seeds

1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil

3/4 cup raw honey

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

2 tbl molasses

1 tbl vanilla extract

1 tbl cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp sea salt

Mix all the ingredients from the rolled oats to the flax seeds in a large bowl. 

Mix all the ingredients from the coconut oil to the salt in a pan on the stove. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly until the mixture is uniform. 

Pour the hot oil-honey mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread granola onto two large greased cookie sheets. 

Bake at 300 for ~50 minutes (50 minutes?! Is she serious?) Yes. I have a testy oven, and the first batch was baked at 350 for 10 minutes and was charred black on the bottom and not done on the top. For this batch, I lowered the oven temperature and put a piece of aluminum foil on the bottom rack to block the hot spot I think the oven has. That being said, if you know your oven, keep that in mind with the baking time. 

Be sure to mix your granola every 7-12 minutes so that the edge area doesn't burn while the center remains under baked.