Apple Pie Granola

Loaded with warming fall spices and cozy vibes, this granola is exploding with apple pie flavors and is addictingly crunchy. Best of all, it's naturally sweetened with just a bit of maple syrup and gets its crispness from apple sauce!

Ingredients

  • 1 c unsweetened apple sauce
  • 0.25 c maple syrup
  • 0.25 c coconut oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 c old fashioned oats
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ginger powder
  • 0.5 tsp nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp allspice
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 0.5 c raw or roasted pecans
  • 1.5 c dried or freeze-dried apple slices
  • 0.25 c crystallized ginger, very finely diced

Instructions

  1. Melt the apple sauce, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla over low heat, then remove from the stove and cool until luke warm. This also works fine in the microwave.
  2. In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, spices, and salt. Pour the wet mixture over the top and mix well to combine.
  3. Spread the mixture across a large sheet tray; the more contact the oats have with the sheet tray, the more effectively they’ll brown.
  4. Bake at 350 for about ~50-60 minutes until the oats are evenly and lightly browned. Stir every 10-15 minutes.
  5. If using raw pecans, stir them into the granola after about 40 minutes.
  6. Toward the end of the baking time, keep a very close eye on the granola. You want it to be browned but not burnt. Don't take it out prematurely or it will be soggy!
  7. Cool completely by setting the sheet tray on a wire rack.
  8. If using pre-roasted pecans, add them now.
  9. Crush up the apple chips with your hands or dice them into bite-sized pieces, then add them to the granola. Cut up the crystallized ginger very finely and add that as well.
  10. Store your granola in a sealed container to keep it crunchy! Make absolutely sure it's 100% cool before putting it in a container, otherwise it will lose its crunch.