Apple-Cinnamon Granola Goodness - Recipe!

Oh, Y'all!  I've been meaning to make some granola for a couple weeks...and just not getting to it.  I started looking at recipes this afternoon, and pulled ideas from here and there, added a little of this and that, and yow - this is some good stuff!

First, I have to say that it never, ever occurred to me to put applesauce into granola.  I read it in one of the recipes.  Brilliant!  I'm so happy with this granola recipe, and I'm eager to share it with you.  Here we go!


Ten Things Farm Apple-Cinnamon Granola Goodness!

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Dry stuff.  Put all this in a cake pan or roasting pan or large baking sheet:
4 c. rolled oats (I use the 3 minute kind, not the quick kind)
1/2 c. sunflower seeds (mine were roasted/salted)
1/2 c. slivered almonds (mine were raw)
1/2 c. wheat germ (mine was raw)
1 t. cinnamon

(If you have different nuts, don't want nuts, whatever - just use what makes your heart sing!  If you omit all the nuts, you could probably toss in another cup of oats.)

Wet stuff.  Put all this in a saucepan and bring it to a nice little simmer.
1/2 c. applesauce (mine was homecanned, unsweetened)
1/2 c. sugar and a 'blop' of molasses, or else 1/2 c. brown sugar (I did the sugar/molasses)
1/4 c. fat of your choice (mine was corn oil)
1/4 c. honey
pinch salt

Stir this as you heat it, OK?  Otherwise the applesauce sort of sinks to the bottom and tries to stick.  But once you get a little simmer goin', pour the wet stuff over the dry stuff and mix it all thoroughly.  Pop the somewhat soggy granola into the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes.  When the timer goes off, take out the pan, give everything a nice little stir, and repeat.  My granola went 4 cycles (one hour) in the oven before it was ready to cool. 

That's the other thing you need to know.  Granola crisps up as it cools.  If you bake it until it's crispy, it may well have a scorched taste, so you have to trust that it will get crispy when cool.  However, if you let it cool and it's not crispy to your liking, no worries.  Turn the oven back on and give it another 15 minutes...and repeat if needed.

Once your granola is completely cooled and nice and crispy, you can add dried fruit if you like.  I decided not to, because we can always toss some in when we are eating it.  Keeping my options open, I guess.

This is DD's bowl - strawberry yogurt, blueberries and granola:

This recipe makes about 1 1/2 pounds of delicious, appley, nutty, yummy granola goodness.  You know what really has me excited?  Last summer, I made a few pints of  peach sauce.  Think applesauce, except made of peaches.  I am SO going to make a peach/almond granola one of these days!

Enjoy!
-Laura at TenThingsFarm

Linking up to Homestead Barn Hop and Living Well Blog Hop