Pumpkin Pecan Granola
Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 7:54 AM 
We spent last weekend near Aspen with my parents and a group of family friends celebrating a 60th birthday. The leaves were glowing yellow and the Saturday market in Aspen was full of gourds and pumpkins. There was an early morning chill to the air. We went on a mountain bike ride on Sunday and as we rode through the trees there were leaves flying around as if we were in a rainstorm. It was magical. On Saturday, we all ran the Golden Leaf Half Marathon, which lived up to its name. The race is run on trails from Snowmass to Aspen. The route weaves in and out of aspen stands - the forest almost seems like it is on fire when the sun shines through the leaves. For a tiny mountain race, it drew some serious star power - Lance Armstrong and Scott Jurek both ran!
The weekend reminded me that even though summer is winding down, good things await. I have felt a bit sad about the days getting shorter, saying farewell to stone fruit, and the impending cold weather. The weekend reminded me that I should instead be looking forward to apples, squash, and pumpkins... to cooler temperatures and our first dusting of snow... and to carving pumpkins and watching football...
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Ali recently inspired me to pick up The Sprouted Kitchen cookbook, which compliments the arrival of fall. Life has been a bit hectic lately, and without any weekends at home my kitchen adventures have been limited to week nights. I'm dreaming of a weekend where I can try the Grilled Eggplant and Herbed Quinoa, or morning at home with Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts. For now, this Pumpkin Pecan Granola is a satisfying replacement.
When it comes to granola, I am all about improvising. I'll read recipes and occasionally toss in new ingredients, but I tend to stick to what I have in the cupboard. It always involves sliced almonds, honey, almond extract, and unsweetened shredded coconut and I improvise with regard to quantities. For this Pumpkin Pecan Granola, I not only followed a recipe, but mixed things up with the addition of puréed pumpkin. The huge upside to using pumpkin (aside from the flavor, which I love) is that it helps keep the granola healthy. Typical granola recipes are full up added fat, usually in the form of butter or oil. While it helps make the granola crunchy and forms clumps, it also makes it extremely unhealthy.
Like all granola, this comes together in a matter of minutes with delicious results. Your home will smell like spices and pumpkin and the sesame seeds and pecans add a nice flavor and crunch to the end result. I've been enjoying this with Greek yogurt and I'll also eat it with milk and a drizzle of honey. I bet it would be great for dessert served over a cinnamon ice cream.
Pumpkin Pecan Granola
Adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen
Yield = 3 cups
Note - If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, just blend together freshly-grated cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
Ingredients
2.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup grade B maple syrup
1/3 cup pumpkin purée
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup raw pecan pieces
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, pumpkin pie spice, maple syrup, and pumpkin purée. Whisk until smooth. Add in the oats, pecans, and sesame seeds and stir until well-coated.
3. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the mixture evenly across the baking sheet keeping as many clumps of granola together as possible. Bake until dry and golden in color, approximately 35 minutes. Be sure to star the granola every 10 minutes, paying particular attention to not let the granola in the corners burn. Let the granola cool completely before storing it in an airtight container.
Breakfast in In the Kitchen
Reader Comments (8)
I love every little thing about this post. I'm in a pumpkin place of mind right now - I just made a curry pumpkin soup and I have a pumpkin brownie tagged - so I'm definitely going to have to make this granola asap. The idea of adding purree is a great one. This also seems like it would be a good hostess gift for a fall party. And the aspen marathon sounds incredibly beautiful, maybe even I could run through a rain shower of yellow aspen leaves. I agree that it is sad to see summer go, but nothing beats a crisp fall day, not even peach pie ;) Hope all is well!
You are all so adorable! Beautiful beautiful photos. What an unbelievable run that must have been. Also, you're crazy. I cannot believe you just finished an IronMan and now a half marathon. So, is a half marathon just a walk in the park for you these days? Also where did you get those lights? LOVE. I am definitely going to try this granola this fall. So perfect for the season!
Thank you for posting this! I was going to make my stand-by granola this weekend (walnuts, flaxseed and choc chips), but I am totally trying this instead. I love the idea of adding puree to it. Yum! What do you think of that cookbook? I keep seeing so many good things from it and want to get it, but my bookshelf is already packed to the gills with cookbooks I don't use often enough.
Thank you all for commenting! Talley, curried pumpkin soup? Will you post about this? I want to make that ASAP! I'm a bit wary of the pumpkin brownies, but I love both pumpkin and chocolate so I don't know what there is to be scared of. And you are right - fall is wonderful. I think I just (as usual) have a list of things I wanted to do this summer that I didn't -- but there will be next summer!
Ali, the lights were hanging in downtown Aspen. Aren't they fun? I'd love some for my yard! Thanks for inspiring me to get this cookbook.
Jackie, this is the only thing I've made from the cookbook so far, but I flagged a bunch of recipes and I think it will be a well-used purchase. I hear you about having so many cookbooks already...
I'm making this right now! It smells amazing. I don't think I can wait until the morning so I might just have to eat some for dessert. yum!
Talley, let me know if you like it!
I'm making this AGAIN! it is SO good. Great idea adding the pumpkin filling. love love love!
Yeah, Talley! I need to make it again, too...
I bought the ingredients for your brussels sprout salad last night. Can't wait to make it tonight.