Spiced Apple & Cranberry Granola
This granola is full of flavor from all the beautiful spices and contains lots of healthy ingredients. It's crunchy and sweet but it's sweetened with maple syrup instead of refined sugar.
In this family, almost all the members start their day with granola or muesli. Except for me, who prefers oatmeal or smoothie bowls for breakfast. Of course, everyone has their favorite kinds. The older boys like chocolate muesli, my husband likes fruit muesli or granola and my youngest likes granola (or just plain oats). And on the rare occasion that I actually eat something like that, I prefer granola over muesli.
The difference between muesli and granola is only that granola is baked. The base ingredients are the same, meaning grains, nuts, seeds, fruit or whatever you like in your mix. But granola has added fat and sweetener in order to create crunchy clusters when baked. That's the best part for me!
But the store-bought versions often contain a surprisingly big amount of sugar! I like to avoid eating refined sugar in general but in particular in the morning as to avoid a sugar spike. So my homemade granolas are made with sugar alternatives like honey or maple syrup. It also adds a really nice taste!
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make a new batch of granolas for the family. So I asked everybody for their favorite flavor combinations. This recipe is my favorite combination – the others are coming up soon! It's great fun coming up with different granolas and I love making things for my family to enjoy. By the way, even though this was „mine“, it's long gone and I wasn't the one who ate it!
As you all know, I love peanut butter. So it will come as no surprise to you that this granola contains peanut butter! Mmmmmhhhhh.... Other than that, the ingredients are poppy seeds, almond slices, cranberries, apple chips, grated coconut, linseeds and a whole lot of lovely spices. I love spices and this granola has all the flavors of Christmas. At first I was even going to name it Christmas Granola! But I'm not only going to eat it around Christmas for sure and neither should you! Oh, and for an extra Christmas touch, I added some mini gingerbread men cookies on top. Just for fun! Doesn't it look even MORE Christmassy now?
If you haven't made your own granola before, don't fret. It's really easy to do! Mix melted coconut oil, peanut butter and maple syrup (or another liquid sweetener like date syrup or honey) together. In another bowl, mix together oats, spelt flakes, seeds, nuts and spices. Roast it while stirring every now and then. When it's done, add your dried fruit and coconut. Easy peasy! Now, I like my granola on the darker side (meaning more roasted) but you can also take it out a little earlier for a lighter color and less strong roasted flavor.
Will you make this for breakfast soon? Or how about my Vegan Persimmon & Cardamom Oatmeal?
This granola is full of flavor from all the beautiful spices and contains lots of healthy ingredients. It's crunchy and sweet but it's sweetened with maple syrup instead of refined sugar.
- 1/4+1/8 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (see notes)
- 1.5 cup steel-cut oats
- 1 cup spelt flakes (see notes)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/8 cup linseeds
- 1/8 cup poppy seeds
- 1/4 cup almond slices
- 1 cup chopped apple chips (or crushed)
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon grated coconut
Pre-heat oven to 160°C (320°F). Cover a baking tray with parchment paper.
In a small pot, melt coconut oil. Add peanut butter and maple syrup. Mix well.
In a big bowl, add oats, spelt flakes, poppy seeds, linseeds, almond slices, ground ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom. Mix well.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix really well! Pour onto the baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Roast at 160°C (320°F) for 30 - 40 minutes. Stir after 20 minutes. Keep a close eye on the granola after 30 minutes if you don't want it to get too dark.
In the meantime, chop or crush the apple chips and chop the dried cranberries. When the granola is finished, take out of the oven and add the dried fruit and grated coconut. Mix well and let it cool off completely. Store in a closed container. Enjoy!
- Sweetener: I used maple syrup but feel free to use honey or date syrup instead.
- Spelt flakes: I like a mixture of different grains so I used spelt as well as oats. If you don't like spelt or can't get it, just use more oats instead.
