What's Baking: Apple Cinnamon Granola


Another day, another granola recipe. I would say that I have officially switched from hot oatmeal to my standard warmer weather breakfast of yogurt + granola, but IT IS CURRENTLY SNOWING OUTSIDE. There's nothing more enjoyable than a spring "winter storm." (Yeah, that's most definitely sarcasm.) I think we're predicted to get 5-7 inches but I haven't checked outside to see how much has accumulated thus far. To be honest, I kind of don't want to know. Every time I get excited about bare pavement (and being able to run outside again without fear of slipping on snow or ice) we seem to get another pile of said ice and snow. One of these days spring will actually arrive, right? (No, please, reassure me that springtime will actually arrive!)

Although I'm still in love with my banana nut granola, I wanted to change things up, so I went with apple cinnamon flavors this time around. The benefit of using applesauce is that it helps to make clumpy granola without having to add much additional fat. Given that I like to drown my yogurt in granola, a lower-fat granola is probably a good thing in my world. In addition, I added in an egg white to both help with the clump factor (because, let's face it, clumps are the best part of granola!) and add in some additional protein content.


Apple Cinnamon Granola (printer-friendly version)
makes about 5 cups

3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
3/4 cup applesauce (I used homemade applesauce, which I pureed to a smooth texture)
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon walnut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg white (or 3 tablespoons of packaged egg whites)

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
3. In a small sauce pot, stir together the applesauce, honey, brown sugar, walnut oil, and vanilla extract. Heat over medium heat until it just comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool.
4. Once cooled, stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until evenly moistened. Stir in the egg white.
4. Spread the granola onto the prepped baking sheet into an even layer. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until golden brown.
5. Let the granola cool in the pan completely before spooning into an airtight container to store.

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