Pumpkin Spice Walnut Granola
Fall is in the air and pumpkin spice everything is on the menu. Make a batch of Pumpkin Spice Walnut Granola to have on hand for breakfast, adding to cookies, muffins or bars or straight up snacking. You know the California Walnuts add crunch and omega-3 fatty acids! Recipe developed by my fabulous dietetic intern Araceli Carranza, who is in the Individualized Supervised-Practice Pathway (ISPP) Program at California State University San Bernardino.
Pumpkin Spice Walnut Granola
Makes: 7- 1/3 cup servings.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups rolled oats
3/4 cup California walnuts
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl combine cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves, stir until well blended. Add rolled oats and walnuts, mix well and set aside.
In a medium saucepan under low/med heat combine the butter, brown sugar, vanilla and honey. Stir until melted and mixed well. Pour over spiced oatmeal and walnuts. Add the pumpkin puree and mix well.
Place mixture on baking sheet creating a bed of oats about 1 inch thick (tip: I used another sheet of parchment paper and a rolling pin to achieve an even layer).
Bake for 30 minutes, taking out once to stir ensuring your granola is crunchy throughout. Turn the oven off and allow residual heat to bake mixture for another 10-12 minutes or until you’ve reached desired crunchy-ness. Allow granola to completely cool before breaking apart. Store in an air tight container.
Calories per serving: 166 calories, 16 g CHO, 13g sugar, 1g Fiber, Fat 12g, Sat fat 3g, Poly 6g, Mono 2g, 0 Trans-fat, Cholesterol 9mg, Sodium 1mg, Potassium 64mg, Vitamin A 11%, Vitamin C .1%, Calcium 5%, Iron 2%