Looks yummy, huh? Here's the recipe!
APPLE MAPLE GRANOLA
5 cups oats (NOT quick-cook)
1 to 1-1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/8 C maple syrup
1/4 C apple butter *
1/2 C apple sauce *
1 egg white
almonds (optional, but highly recommended)
dried apples
cranberries (optional)
Preheat the oven to 325'F. Whisk the egg white until frothy. Mix everything together except for the dried fruit. (The fruit will be added AFTER the cooking process, to prevent it from burning.) Line the mixture evenly on a cookie sheet. (Use parchment paper underneath for easy removal.) Bake for 20 minutes. Stir, gently, so that the clumps aren't completely broken up. Bake for 20 more minutes (or longer, depending on how crunchy you like your granola). Let the granola cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet (for at least 2 hours, overnight is best.) Breaking apart the granola too early will cause the clumps to fall apart, and you'll be left with flaky granola (which some prefer, but I adore the clumpy, snack-style granola that's easy to pop into your mouth). Once it's cool, add the dried apples and cranberries, in whatever quantity you like in your granola. I added a couple handfuls of each to mine.* The apple butter and apple sauce used in this recipe were both homemade, and thus, had much stronger flavors than store bought products. If you don't have homemade on hand, you may want to add more cinnamon and nutmeg, as these are both present in the apple butter. The butter and sauce are also INTERCHANGEABLE. You should add a total of 3/4 C of apple butter/sauce combined. So if you don't have apple butter, add 1/4 C more apple sauce, or vice versa, if you don't have apple sauce, add more apple butter.
The recipe will make plenty, so feel free to nibble on some right out of the oven (once it's cool enough to eat, that is!).
