There is nothing, absolutely nothing like a big bowl of homemade crunchy granola cereal. I love stumbling upon jumbo clusters of granola on the rare occasion that they find their way into my store bought granola. It’s seriously as satisfying as finding a gem. Okay, maybe just slightly less. I’ve always been a big fan of making granola at home. Not only is it cheap, it’s easy (!), you can make as many big clusters as you want, and you control what goes in. That means, no excess sugar, please. In fact, my pumpkin spice granola recipe has absolutely no refined sugars. Which makes it the perfect snack to munch on while snuggling up on the couch with a big blanket and a 30 Rock marathon or Criminal Minds. Gotta keep it fresh, don’t cha know.
I made one big batch of this pumpkin spice granola and sent some over to my parents place as well as Anees’ sisters. My husband doesn’t care for anything pumpkin and I didn’t think eating the whole batch by myself was a good idea. Also, I wanted to get a few additional opinions on the flavor, crunch, and what not. I asked the hubs to at least try a bite. And guess what? He couldn’t get enough! He said he loved the fact that it was just lightly sweetened and the clusters! They’re so adorably poppable. ♥ This super crunchy granola recipe is bursting with yummy pumpkin flavor. Its lightly sweetened with pure maple syrup and just a few tablespoons of honey. Although the add-in possibilities are endless (more on that later), i’ve jammed packed this fall favorite with pumpkin seeds or pepitas, coconut flakes, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and of course, pumpkin puree.
Let’s take a second to discuss the ingredient possibilities for this pumpkin spice granola. ADDITIONS AND SUBTRACTIONS FOR PUMPKIN SPICE GRANOLA: – Add your own favorite nuts or dried fruit. I used pecans for this granola recipe. If you’re not a fan swap them for almonds, or use dried fruit instead. Cranberries would be an amazing addition. – Not a fan of coconut flakes? Leave it out. – Add chocolate chips. This granola is lightly sweetened so adding in 1 cup of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips once the granola has cooled down would allow you to add a little more sweetness without altering the recipe. You know what else would be delicious? Peanut butter chips. YUM. – Like your granola on the sweeter side? Instead of adding 2 tablespoons of honey like the recipe suggests, up the amount to 1/4 cup (that’s 4 tablespoons). – Don’t care for quinoa or chia seeds. Omit them without an issue. – Sweeteners. Want to use agave nectar or honey instead of the maple syrup, be my guest. And now for my next act, I shall teach you how to get those ‘big clusters’ that make you want to finish off the whole container of this pumpkin spice granola. To get the big clusters, shape as many or as little of the granola cereal by firmly pressing teaspoon sized amounts into a ball. Be careful when tossing the cereal between baking. Either lightly shake the pan to flip or use tongs to get the job done. It’s important to shimmy the pan every 10 minutes so the granola doesn’t burn. Make sure to just be a little careful if you’re making clusters. Try not to shake the pan too aggressively. Now go treat yourself to this delicious homemade granola cereal. Have it in a bowl with milk or use it as a topping for your vanilla greek yogurt. You’ve gotta make this pumpkin spice granola, it’s all the flavors of fall, in a bowl. ♥
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This recipe makes a lightly sweetened granola. If you prefer your granola on the sweeter side, up the amount of honey or agave nectar to 1/4 cup. Feel free to add or omit the addins (pecans, coconut flakes, quinoa, etc). Some other suggestions include but not limited to: dried cherries, cranberries, almonds, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips etc.
