There’s a new granola in town and I’m loving it. Yup, you guessed it. It’s this Cinnamon Harvest Granola I’m sharing with today. It’s the perfect sweet, nutty and spicy way to start an autumn day, or any day of the year. Have a jar of this waiting for you on the counter in the morning and you just might look forward to waking up. I sure do.
Besides loving granola, in all forms, and always thinking of new flavor combos that could be great, the inspiration from this came from a new boxed cereal that recently hit the market, Morning Summit. Well, I think new. I only discovered it this past July when we returned to the States, and I like to think I know the Costco line-up pretty well. (I think other than maybe Amazon, Costco is the only place it’s sold.)
I instantly fell in love with this cereal. The first ingredient is whole almonds! Pretty impressive. And it packs a load of other awesome ingredients like whole grains, pumpkin seeds, dried cherries and cranberries, organic maple syrup and organic coconut oil. Not bad for a delicious store-bought cereal. But like other boxed cereals, it has a few other not so great ingredients and GMO’s. And it packs a hefty price of about $13 per box. It’s not a small box at 38-ounces but still. Even for “healthy” cereal, this seems steep. Nonetheless, I love it and have some in my cupboard as we speak for the occasional more treat-like quick breakfast that I combine with another less costly, less sweet cereal option. Everything in moderation right, and besides nothin’ wrong with rationing in uncertain times.
So with all the above said, I decided to do myself and my family one better by creating something very similar to this cereal. Enter the new oh-so-autumnesque granola that has as much and more going on for it as the boxed stuff. I’ve included the oats of course, then whole almonds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds and a generous dose of warming spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Then a little olive oil and a tiny amount of maple syrup brings it together and sweetens it up just a tad. And after it bakes, a handful of dried cherries gets tossed in. No unheard of ingredients, no GMO’s, no refined-sugar and it’s more cost-effective. Wins all around.
And the biggest plus, it couldn’t get easier to make. Toss it all in a bowl. Give it a good stir to combine. Bake, shake, bake a little more and enjoy after it cools. Oh, and letting it cool undisturbed (no more shaking or stirring) means you’ll end up with some of those delicious little clusters. My fav part.
Start your morning with Autumn Harvest Granola. The breakfast of champions. Ha, just kidding, but you know what I mean. This is good and I think you’re gonna love it.
And if you do give it a go, I’d love to hear from you…. Cheers to healthy AND delicious mornings.
(And p.s. how cool that today is Harvest Moon day. Just learned that this morning. Be sure to admire the 1st of this month’s two full moons tonight. The second is fittingly on Halloween!)
Cinnamon Harvest Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups (270g) old-fashioned oats
- 3/4 cup (98g) pecans, chopped
- 1/2 cup (75g) whole almonds
- 1/2 cup (65g) pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsps whole flax seeds
- 2 tbsps hemp seeds
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- pinch ground cloves
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsps (127g) maple syrup
- 1/4 cup olive oil (coconut oil is great here too)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 140C/ 275F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
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In a large bowl add all of the dry ingredients, ending with the ground cloves. Stir well to combine.
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Add the maple syrup and olive oil to the oats mixture and use a spatula to mix until everything is well combined and evenly coated.
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Spread it out evenly onto the prepped baking sheet.
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Bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pan and gently tossing and re-spreading the oats halfway through baking.
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Remove from the oven and sprinkle the 1/2 cup of dried cranberries on top. Allow to cool at room temperature completely, toss to combine the cranberries then store in an airtight container or jar. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*Stores in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
*Ground flax seeds can be subbed for the whole flax seeds if needed.
*Once you remove the granola from the oven and sprinkle the cranberries on top, don’t stir it. You’ll have a few yummy clusters stuck together if you wait until it’s cooled to gently stir/ store.
