gingerbread granola

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nothing makes your house smell better than baking up a batch of this easy homemade gingerbread granola

I am trying my hardest to get into the holiday spirit, even if my house is in total chaos. Chaos, mess, and I do not really get along. I don’t like clutter, and I don’t keep a lot of chotskies around. It makes me a little crazed to have stuff laying about which is probably why I stay out of my kids rooms at all costs.

Right now my entire house is “stuff”. Boxes and piles, and piles and boxes. It is really cramping my Christmas style, and I have been a bit of a crab. Yesterday, in an effort to find my holiday spirit I filled my home with the sounds and smells of Christmas. I lit my shimmering pines candles, started a fire, blasted the Christmas music, and baked this gingerbread granola.

The candles smelled so good, but didn’t even come close to the smells coming from the oven. This granola smells heavenly. Even better than gingerbread cookies or molasses bread ^[4], and I didn’t think that was possible. I found my mood immediately changing and my holiday spirit returning. We may not have a tree up yet, and I am skipping the holiday cards altogether, but we will have festive granola. Can you really be a Grinch when eating granola that tastes like gingerbread cookies? I don’t think so.

Print Recipe ^[5]

gingerbread granola

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup of roughly chopped nuts (I used pecans)
• 1/4 cup flax seed
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 4 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp molasses
• 1 tsp vanilla

 

Directions:

• preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• in a large bowl combine the oats, flax, brown sugar, salt, and spices
• whisk together the butter, syrup, molasses, and vanilla
• pour wet ingredients over the dry, and toss to combine
• spread mixture in an even layer on a large rimmed baking sheet
• bake 20 minutes, stir and bake another 10 minutes
• allow granola to cool and mix in raisins, cranberries, dried ginger, or chocolate chips (optional)
• cool completely before storing in an airtight container

 

At least for today I am going to forget my to-do lists. I am going to ignore the moving boxes that need to be filled. The mess will eventually get cleaned up, the move will happen ready or not. Gifts will get wrapped. It always works out in the end, and I need to remind myself of that. Today I’ll find my holiday spirit in a bowl of gingerbread granola and think you should too.

enjoy!