Gingerbread Granola

I typically make a large batch of granola every other week or so – largely because, though I am always on the search for something for lunch that’s interesting, breakfast throughout the week is one of two things: yogurt and granola or overnight oats. Once upon a time, I used to buy granola, but then realized how much sugar commercially produced granola has in it. Making my own allows me to adjust the amount of sugar, as well as experiment with the kinds of sweeteners I use.

This week’s granola features ginger and pumpkin pie spices, since it is the holidays, after all. It’s got small chunks of candied ginger in it, along with hazelnuts and almonds. I also throw in a bit of uncooked quinoa for some added crunch – feel free to omit if you don’t have this readily on hand.

Gingerbread Granola

Serves 8 – 10

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not the quick or instant kind)
¼ cup uncooked quinoa
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup molasses
½ cup olive oil or coconut oil
½ cup nuts, roughly chopped (I used a combination of hazelnuts and almonds)
6 – 8 chunks of candied ginger, chopped

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Combine oats, quinoa, spices, and nuts in a bowl and stir. Stir in the maple syrup, molasses, and oil until all the dry ingredients are coated.

Spread out the oat mixture on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Cook for 10 minutes at a time, stirring every 10 minutes, for a total of 30 minutes. Let the granola cool. Stir in the candied ginger as you break up the granola and prepare it for storage. I usually keep my granola in an airtight jar in the pantry for several weeks.