pumpkin granola

It’s officially pumpkin season here. While fall is not my favorite season, I do love the excuse to make anything pumpkin flavored. Including pumpkin granola. So when I got some Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts in the mail to try out, I knew exactly what I would do with them – make granola!

manitoba hemp hearts

And since I was craving some pumpkin granola, I combined the two – so here you go … pumpkin hemp hearts granola. It’s pretty good. It’s a little less sweet than the typical granola I make (feel free to add more sugar if you want it sweeter) and a little softer (pumpkin will do that to it) BUT it’s the perfect fall breakfast or snack. I dare you to try it with pumpkin yogurt!

pumpkin hemp heart granola |icrashedtheweb.jpg

Pumpkin Hemp Hearts Granola

Here’s what you need:

3 ½ c old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 c hemp hearts (I used Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts)
2 tsps ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp allspice
1 Tablespoon packed brown sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup honey
¼ c coconut oil, melted
1 egg white
Optional: Dried fruit, such as cranberries, cherries, etc.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the oats and hemp hearts. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and brown sugar. Mix until puree is a little darker and smooth. Add in maple syrup, honey and melted coconut oil. In a separate bowl, whisk egg white. Add to pumpkin puree mixture and mix until evenly combined. Pour over oats and hemp hearts and mix until everything is just wet.
Spread onto the baking sheet pat oat mixture down tightly. Bake for about 40 minutes. Check about every 15 minutes and stir if it is starting to burn.
Allow granola to cool for 30 minutes on the baking sheet before adding in dried fruit.
Store in a covered container, such as a jar. Granola won’t be as crunchy as other granolas because of the pumpkin – but it’s delicious!

pumpkin hemp heart granola |icrashedtheweb.jpg

pumpki hemp heart granola-icrashedtheweb

Some questions for you:

What’s your favorite pumpkin flavored treat this time of year? Yogurt? Latte? Cookies?
Any pumpkin haters out there?
Do you prefer dry cereal or with milk? I love dry cereal. I sometimes like cereal or granola with yogurt- but never milk.

For more Meatless Monday posts, check out some of my past recipes or visit the linkups below!

Meatless Monday!

As you may know, I looooove granola. I grew up eating my mom’s homemade granola and have been looking for an excuse to make a new version.

Well, I was talking with my brother recently and he mentioned that if I wanted to send him a package (which I do on occasion – usually with baked goods), to send him granola. Challenge accepted! And of course, since pumpkin season is here (as if you haven’t realized that from my plethora of pumpkin recipes), I decided to try to make some pumpkin granola to send him.

Warning – this stuff is really good if you like granola. And pumpkin. So good that my brother only got a small baggie (sorry, Greg, I promise you more if you visit!). But it’s also SO easy that you can make it and share it with friends! And really, this recipe is not much different from the original granola recipe – just has some more spices and of course, pumpkin!

Pumpkin Granola

Here’s what you need:

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats, or organic oats (I used the amazing oats we got in our CSA)
1/2 cup flaxseed
1 cup your favorite dried fruit (you can use any combination of dried fruit – as usual, I used dried blueberries, dried cranberries and dried cherries)
1 cup your favorite nut, loosely chopped (I used almonds and cashews – but I imagine pumpkin seeds would work really well this time!)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
3/4 – 1 cup maple syrup (I used about 1 c. of what we had on hand which was pure maple syrup from Canada!)
1/2 cup canned pumpkin

Here’s what you do:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine oats, flaxseed, nuts, dried fruit in a large boil.
In a smaller bowl, combine brown sugar, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, maple syrup and pumpkin. Combine until well mixed.
Add brown sugar-pumpkin mixture to oat mixture. Mix well until oats, nuts, etc. are well and evenly coated.
Pour out onto a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper.
Bake for about 40 minutes, checking and stirring at about 15-20 minutes and again at 30ish minutes. Careful not to let it burn!
Let cool and enjoy!