Monday, September 28, 2009

Earthy-crunchy

Who am I? What have I become? I'm afraid I'm turning into one of those hippy-dippy's that we make fun of because for the second time now, I've made my own homemade granola. And its GOOD.

The first batch turned out just okay...not sweet enough, a little burnt, but still added a nice guilt-free crunch to pumpkin pie yogurt.

I made some modifications to the second batch and it turned out SO DELICIOUS that it's almost gone (and I just made it yesterday.) Even A is inhaling will eat it.

Try it, you will probably scarf down all 9 servings in less than 48 hours like it:

Pumpkin spice granola

2 C old fashioned oats
1/2 C pumpkin puree
3/4 C water
1 T (sugar free) maple syrup
1/2 C Splenda
2 t cinnamon
2 t vanilla
1 T Torani sugar free pumpkin pie syrup (optional - you can find this at Cost Plus on sale right now!)
1/2 t sea salt
1/4 C raw pepitas
Non-stick cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a small food processor, blend pumpkin, water, maple syrup, Splenda, cinnamon, vanilla, Torani, syrup and sea salt until smooth.
3. In a large bowl, toss the wet ingredients with the oats and pepitas.
4. Lay out the mixture in a thin, single layer on a baking tray, lined with parchment paper. Spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. (This aids the browning process, but is completely optional.)
5. Bake for 45-50 minutes until oats are starting to brown. Check granola every ten minutes. (I “flip” mine after the first ten minutes and spray the bottom with non-stick cooking spray. After 20 minutes and 30 minutes I use 2 large knives to break the clumps down into smaller bits. This speeds the drying process too.)
6. Remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet.
7. Crunch away!

Makes about 2 1/4 C
Nutrition Facts per 1/4 C serving (approximate): Calories – 93.2, Fat – 2.9, Protein – 3.3, Carbohydrate – 13.9, Fiber – 2.5

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