Homemade Maple Cranberry Pecan Granola

I have long been fascinated with the idea of making my own granola. I don’t know why it took me so long to actually DO it. Suddenly several of my foodie friends are talking about it, so perhaps it was the power of suggestion? I don’t know. I just know that last week I suddenly felt a strong urge to make granola.

And I’m soooo glad I did. It is really quite simple to make and it just blows away the taste of store-bought granola, with the added bonus that you can control what goes into it. So it’s easy to make it healthier. This is so tasty, my parents and I munched on little handfuls of this granola all weekend. The first day I made it, I had three bowls of it with milk. The jar is disappearing quite quickly. (Which is exciting to me, because that means I get to try out my NEXT granola flavor! woo hoo!)

Maple Cranberry Pecan Granola

Slightly adapted from ChinDeep.

• 2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1 teaspoons coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 cup flaxmeal

• 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons unsweetened pearsauce (drain a can of pears and blend until smooth) or applesauce
• 1/6 cup maple syrup
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil

• 3 oz. dried cranberries

This recipe was shared at Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays and Tuesday Talent Shows.