Homebaked Granola

Made in mind for: Cousin Amy

1 C      organic canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
½ C     coconut oil, melted and then measured
½ C     local honey
2 tsp    cinnamon
1 tsp    almond extract (OR 1 TBS vanilla extract)*
generous pinch sea salt

4 C       gluten-free oats (I prefer Bob’s Red Mill)
1 ¼ C   raw nuts, chopped (pecans, walnuts or almonds)
½ C      raw sunflower seeds
½ C      raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1 C       dried fruit (cherries OR blueberries)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In large bowl, whisk pumpkin, oil, honey, cinnamon, extract and salt until combined into a smooth paste. Stir in gluten-free oats. Add chopped nuts and seeds and stir until evenly coated.

Divide granola onto 3 parchment lined baking trays and spread into single layers. Bake for 25 minutes and remove trays from oven. Shift granola on tray, moving browned edges to the interior and soft granola bits towards the outer perimeter. Bake 15-20 minutes longer until golden brown. (Timing may vary from rack to rack in your oven. I prefer baking to crispy brown as opposed to underbaking). Remove from oven.

Cool completely on trays.  Pour cooled granola into clean large bowl.  Mix in dried fruit. Store in tightly sealed mason jars. Keeps fresh for weeks, if you have that much willpower!

* When adding the extract, I love the simple combination of pairing dried blueberries with almond extract / dried cherries with vanilla extract. Check to ensure your extracts are gluten-free.