It is time for Secret Recipe Club reveal day!  Woo-hoo!  What is the Secret Recipe Club?  It’s a lot like Secret Santa, but with recipes.  Each month you are assigned a blog.  After selecting a recipe from that bloggers repertoire, you make and post it on reveal day.  It is a great way to find fun recipes and blogs.  I like how it gets me to actually sit down and go through another person’s blog.  Blogs are a lot of work and take time to put together.  Instead of skimming through just the new stuff (as is usually easier when we see a new blog) it is fun to really sit down and go through what else the blog has to offer.  Fun stuff!

This month I was assigned Allison’s blog, Sweet Flours.  I really enjoyed going through her blog.  The pics are wonderful and the recipes all so delicious sounding.  I had a hard time picking one to try…  Would it be the Hearty Winter Vegetable Pilaf?  Or Lime Glazed Coconut Snowballs or the Buckeyes?  Or maybe, after all the holiday indulgences, I should whip up some Green Monster Smoothies? She has a passion for pumpkin (I love me some pumpkin) and those recipes kept drawing my back.  As I wanted one that could be used for the holidays, I finally decided on the pumpkin granola.  I know, doesn’t really sound like a holiday thing, huh?  I made it because it sounded delicious, but I also think this would make a great gift from your kitchen in a jar, all wrapped up for Christmas.  A tasty, healthy treat to share!

The pumpkin granola is not too sweet at all, which we really loved.  My kiddos were sneaking bits off the pan before I got a chance to put it away, and begged to have it for breakfast the next day.  That, my dears, is a successful recipe!  After I made it the first time, I tweaked it a bit for our tastes and the recipe below reflects that.  I can’t use one of the cereals due to our allergies, which I think adds a bit of sweetness, so I bumped up the maple syrup and vanilla a bit.  I think adding dried apricots or dried cranberries after it cools would be a lovely addition.  Gotta try that next!

Thanks for the recipe, Allison!  I can’t wait to come back an try some more things from your yummy and beautiful blog!

 

Pumpkin Granola

1 1/2 cups certified gluten free old fashioned oats

1 1/2 cup gluten free crispy rice cereal (fruit juice sweetened preferred)

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons gluten free vanilla extract

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup pepitas

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Mix the oats and rice cereal in a bowl.  In a separate bowl mix the pumpkin, applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla, pie spice and salt until smooth.  Combine the wet with the dry ingredients, mixing until well coated.  Spread mixture into a rimmed baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Stir mixture, breaking apart larger lumps.  Sprinkle pepitas and brown sugar over mixture.  Put pan back into oven and bake for 20 more minutes until golden and crispy.  It will get more crispy as it cools. Optional idea:  After granola cools, mix in chopped dried apricots or dried cranberries.