24 Dec Gingerbread Granola with Cranberries & Pecans
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!
I seriously can’t believe it’s already here. I know you’re probably hearing that from all corners of the interwebs, but seriously 2013, where did you go? There were about a billion things I wanted to do before Christmas and like 2 of them happened. So for all of you out there who got neither a baked gift, nor a Christmas card from me, please know that I love you anyway.
Actually, if you’re one of those people then you already know how terribly unorganized I am and are not at all surprised that I didn’t do half of what I intended.
You’re also not surprised that I drove all the way to the post office to mail a package on Saturday (late) only to realize that I didn’t have the package with me. Or that I was unable to keep my poor little Poinsettia alive. (But I still have my pumpkin from Halloween/Thanksgiving! That counts for something right!?)
This is why my Christmas tree is plastic. And pre-lit. Thank you Walmart for understanding me. Kind of.
While I may have completely fallen behind, I truly love this time of year. I mean, does anybody ever feel like they have a handle on the holiday chaos? The hustle & bustle is all part of the charm.
I’m ok with the fact that I haven’t wrapped a single present or watched any of my favorite Christmas movies. I know I’ll be locked in a room tomorrow, with a Holiday favorite on the TV, wrapping away in order to get everything under the tree in time for our Christmas Eve festivities. I’ll be baking Christmas treats up until the last minute and when it’s all said and done I’ll sit back, look at all my treats, and feel sad that I have to wait another year do it all over again.
I’m a sap like that. And I know I’m not alone!
I made this Gingerbread Granola as a little Christmas treat for my boyfriend to take back to his mom in Rochester, NY. She is gluten-free, and as you may have noticed, there’s not too much of that going on around here.
I know I’ve said it before, but I have a fear of gluten-free flour. It has like 5000 things in it, it’s expensive, and none of the baking science I have worked so hard to learn applies to it. And from what I know, Steve’s mom is kind of a GF cookie baking queen. Maybe some day she will teach me her gluten-free magic, but until then, I’m avoiding the competition and sticking with good old, naturally gluten-free, granola. With a Holiday twist, of course.
Good news, it’s pretty healthy too! Go ahead and make this for your Christmas breakfast so you can save your calories for dipping Christmas cookies into boozy eggnog. If that’s the kind of thing your into.
Because let’s be honest. It’s exactly the kind of thing I’m into.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all that jazz!
No matter who you are or what you celebrate I hope your next few days are spent warm & cozy, with family and loved ones, and of course, all the delicious treats you can handle.
I’m so so thankful for each and every one of you!
XoXo, Katie
Ingredients
- 3 cups oats
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized bowl whisk together oil, honey, vanilla extract, and molasses until well incorporated.
- In a separate, large bowl combine oats, spices, salt and pecans.
- Add liquid mixture to oats and gently stir to coat.
- Gently turn granola out onto your baking sheet and spread into an even layer.
- Bake for 26-28 minutes, removing the cookie sheet from the oven and stirring at the 15 minute mark. Note: keep a close eye on it as you near the end of your baking time as molasses has a tendency to burn. You should smell the spices and the toasty oats, but there should be no burnt smell.
- Remove from the oven and carefully fold in the cranberries.
- Let cool on baking sheet then store in an airtight container.
Recipe adapted from GabbysGFree.com.
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