The Crafty Cultivator

Yep… Granola. We are putting yesterday’s cookies into this very festive (and adaptable) granola!

I adapted the original recipe to suit my own tastes. You just need to keep the general dry to wet amounts the same… So if you don’t want one thing, be sure to replace it with something else… Or be ready to add in some extra oats if the mix is too moist. If you end up needing a little more moisture, add a little maple syrup or molasses, or melt some more butter.

On the topic of Cranberries… I loved them in the granola, but other people were less fond of them, so use at your own discretion.. Next time I make this, I will probably leave them out, and just add them to my own granola bowl as a topping.

On the topic of Oats… You don’t want Instant or Quick or 2 Minute oats… You want traditional Rolled Oats… Around here they are typically called “Old Fashioned”. Trust me. The other ones have been pre-cooked and can become a bit mushy and develop a weird consistency once you put it into a granola situation.

Gingerbread Granola

3 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

1 1/4 cup Unsweetened Flaked Coconut

1/2 cup Pistachios (roughly chop them if desired)

1/2 cup Almond Slices

1/2 cup Pecans (roughly chop them if desired)

1 cup Pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)

1 cup Dried Cranberries

1/4 cup Molasses

1/2 cup Pure Maple Syrup

4 Tbsp Melted Butter (sub in Coconut Oil if desired)

3 tsp Instant Coffee

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Ginger

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

4 Tbsp Honey

1. In a large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, pistachios, almonds, pecans, pepitas, and cranberries.
2. Melt the butter in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water. Stir in the molasses and the maple syrup. Let them heat up a little, then sprinkle the coffee on, and stir to dissolve. Stir in the cinnamon, ginger, salt and vanilla.
3. Pour the warm mixture over the dry and stir for a good 3-5 minutes to fully combine.
4. Spread the mixture out evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp of the honey.
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes stirring every 10 minutes to ensure even toasting. On the last 10 minutes, drizzle with the remaining 2 Tbsp of Honey.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool for about an hour, then break the granola up if it formed into a solid mass.
7. Combine the Gingerbread men in from yesterday’s recipe and there you have Gingerbread Man Granola.

Perfect for gifts, guests, or getting the festive spirit going at breakfast.

Remember when I pre-apologized for having trouble adding photos? Well, I seem to have lost all the granola photos I had… And we’ve already eaten the granola. If I happen to make this again before Christmas, I will take new photos and add them here… If not, I apologize again.