Maple Walnut Granola

Fall has Arrived here in North Carolina! From Fall food to Fall clothes, I am so ready for cooler weather and bonfires, scary stories (I have legit been watching Ghost Adventures all the time) and cinnamon everything! So when this maple walnut granola popped up in my head I needed to create it! ANDD… share it with you of course.

This recipe for maple walnut granola was an idea that brought me back to my childhood. When I was a kid my great grandma was a lover of ice cream. She loved the ever so sweet maple walnut ice cream. I always thought it was too sweet but, I swear the local ice cream parlor of the itty bitty town she lived in kept it in stock just for her. It was never has popular as some flavors like moose tracks and superman (I am just saying grandma). However, every year I am always craving this flavor around this time of year because it has always made me feel like all.

Now pop back to 2018 and I am sitting here with some sort of pumpkin spice, dairy free something or other that I am not sure how I feel about it yet. This is coupled with some Greek yogurt (I know I am kind of like making everything null and void here) mixed with this maple walnut granola that is just seriously the bomb. It is bringing all the warm and fuzzy feels of fall as it is finally under 75 degrees. I have had boots dusted off since the middle of September, so this weather is perfectly welcomed with opened arms, covered in a sweater I might add.

Maple Walnut Granola

3 cups rolled Old Fashion Oats
1 1/2 cups coarse chopped walnuts
1 Tbsp Ground Flax Seed
2 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup
3 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1 Tbsp Vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 Degrees Fahrenheit. Mix together oats, walnuts, flax seed, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

Mix together your maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla. You may have to put the coconut oil in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt.

Mix together your oat mixture and your maple syrup mixture. Pour onto a pan with aluminum foil (with nonstick spray). Bake for 15 minutes. Take out and stir. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Take out and stir. Let sit on pan for 5 minutes. Then line a cooling rack with parchment paper and pour granola on to the cooling rack. Stir occasionally while the granola is cooling for the extra crunch.

While cooling if you would like to add some dried fruit like raisins or cranberries just mix them it! Some pieces of dark chocolate are pretty good too! This maple walnut granola has got to be the best I have made so far this season. I have been trying to come up with other recipes but I keep falling back to this beloved recipe!

The Smells and Feels are all there!

The kitchen smells heavenly after baking my 4th batch of this maple walnut granola. I seriously cannot get enough! I am usually a pumpkin lover around this time of year but lately I have been into anything with cinnamon and maple. I cannot get enough of it. I am always looking for nostalgic food in the fall and winter to remember the good times of being a kid. Especially when I am with all of my family in Pennsylvania.

When you baked this delicious maple walnut granola, you will smell all the fall scents and the warm fuzzy feelings I promise! Or else give it to your neighbor who will enjoy it more ( I am just saying). I would definitely appreciate some of this maple walnut granola showing up at my door.

Until next time!

Deliciously,
Gabby