Maple Pecan Pumpkin Pie Spice Skillet Granola- I'm Obsessed!

Another obsession of mine- making homemade granola!  It happened out of necessity, as I struggled to find a grocery store granola that wasn't loaded with sugar or artificial ingredients.  And now, I'm hooked and so is my family.

Like many of my recipes, this granola can be different every time you make it, just by changing the nuts, seeds, and fruits you choose to use.  This particular combination is my favorite for two reasons:  first, I've used pure maple syrup as the sweetener instead of my usual organic honey, with absolutely delicious results, and second- because the entire batch is mixed and baked in one large skillet.  Less fuss, less mess, so easy!

Stir fry the ingredients until they are toasty and fragrant!

Ok, so I lied.  There are three reasons.  One of the recipes I'm best known for in my family is my pumpkin pie.  And the best thing about that recipe is the perfect combination of spices.  And so that exact combination is what I have put in this granola:  cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in that order decreased by half.  Trust me, it works.

In our house, we use granola in the traditional way, as a cereal, but my absolute favorite is sprinkled over Greek yogurt.  Ridiculously good. 



Next time I do this, I'm going to drizzle some extra maple syrup over everything.  Mmmmmm!

 



But don't stop there!  Maple Pecan Pumpkin Pie Spiced Granola is an unexpected yet fabulous topping for vegetables, as I discovered this weekend while creating a side dish for roast pork.

First, I sliced Delicata squash and Bartlett pears, tossed them in olive oil and sprinkled them with salt and pepper.  They were roasted on 425 for about 20 minutes.  In the meantime, I mixed a half cup of pure maple syrup with a teaspoon of Ancho chili powder and cayenne (to taste) in a skillet.  When the squash and pears were roasted, I tossed them in a pan with the maple mixture and sprinkled them with crumbled pancetta.  After transferring everything to a serving dish, I topped it with the granola. The spicy sweet veggies and fruit combined with the crunchy granola....   seriously fabulous.



I could eat this every day!

 





If you think of another way to repurpose this granola, or if you've tried some interesting combinations, I'd love to hear from you!  For this particular recipe, I owe a thank you to Pure Canadian Maple Syrup for the inspiration.  (http://www.purecanadamaple.com)  I will definitely be using maple syrup to sweeten my treats again!

Maple Pecan Pumpkin Pie Spiced Skillet Granola

 

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup chopped pecans (or other nuts!)

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds (or sunflower seeds, or other seeds!)

1/4 cup wheat germ (or wheat bran, or even natural coconut!)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup raw virgin coconut oil (grape seed oil, or nut oils work well too)

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped dried figs (or other dried fruit!)

 

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Place oats, pecans, pumpkin seeds, and wheat germ in an oven safe non-stick skillet and toast over medium heat until golden and fragrant, stirring frequently.  You are essentially stir frying the ingredients here.

 

Sprinkle spices and salt over the mixture and stir to combine.  Pour coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla into pan and mix thoroughly.

 

Transfer skillet to oven and roast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from oven, cool slightly, then stir in figs.  Cool completely and store in airtight container.