Our Gastropost Mission this week was NUTS (literally)! And if I’m forced to pick a favourite, I have to go with pecans. They’re my favourite nut, hands down. My preferred application would be pecan pie, but to get an everyday fix, they’re my nut of choice to include in a homemade, crunchy granola.

This recipe is from Katie’s Plate, and I love the liberal use of fall spices, as well as olive oil instead of butter to make it a little more heart healthy. I stacked it up in little mason jars with greek yogurt and sauteed cinnamon apples and it was an awesome little treat…like apple crisp in disguise as breakfast!

Maple Pecan Granola

Source: slightly adapted from Katie’s Plate, parfait idea from Kitchen Simplicity

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

3 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup pepitas

+ Greek yogurt & sauteed cinnamon apples for layering

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325, and get out one big baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, and spices. Add the oats, nuts and seeds and stir until they’re coated evenly with the olive oil/spice mixture.
3. Spread in an even layer on the baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Let cool.
4. To make parfaits, layer granola with greek yogurt and sauteed cinnamon apples, which you make by peeling and dicing two apples, and cooking them down in a saucepan with 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp water, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp vanilla, until they’re brown and soft.