There I was, in the middle of the kitchen, concentrating on making a new-to-me recipe for dinner, while the dog kept wandering in right next to my feet, checking to see if I dropped anything on the floor since the last time he checked 32 seconds earlier.
He does this every. single. time. I cook.
And every single time he is told to get out of the kitchen while I am cooking.
How many times has he been stepped on under such circumstances?
Many.
But he doesn’t learn. He really is a smart dog, but apparently he has a short term memory, because “Out of the kitchen!” seems to only apply to the few seconds it takes to say those words.
The slight chance (okay, if I am cooking chances are better than slight) that he will find a dropped morsel and be rewarded for his diligence apparently outweigh the risk of a severe maiming injury.
While I do appreciate him cleaning up the floors for me, I’d rather not see him suffer any broken bones in doing so.
Anyway, somehow, while reading a recipe and cooking, shooing the dog out of the kitchen, answering questions about 4th grade geometry homework and listening to a tediously verbose description of the events that took place during first grade recess, an idea popped into my head.
A granola idea.
(Don’t ask me how there was room for granola in there. My mind works in weird ways.)
I was so excited about this idea though, that instead of planning for teaching my first art classs of the year the next morning, I set to work on making granola immediately after dinner.
While still shooing the dog out of the kitchen.
Apple Pie Granola
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45-60 minutes
Keywords: bake dessert snack breakfast gluten-free vegan apple oats fall winter
Ingredients (Makes about 8 cups)
- 2 sweet, crisp apples (Fuji or Honeycrisp work well)
- 6 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup pepitas
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup raw sugar
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 4 T coconut oil, melted
- 4 T unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 275*.
Slice apples into thin slices (a mandolin would be great, or just a knife and a careful hand) works too.
Place slices in a single layer on parchment paper and bake, flipping halfway through, for 60 minutes, or until dry, crispy and beginning to turn golden brown.
Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix dry ingredients for granola (oats, nuts, spices & sugar). Set aside.
In a small bowl, mix wet ingredients (syrup, oil, applesauce, vanilla & almond extract).
Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until evenly coated.
Turn out onto a large baking sheet (or two regular sized sheets) and bake for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 15-20 minutes, until light golden brown.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Once completely cooled, break or cut apple chips into small pieces and add to cooled granola, stirring to combine.
Store in an airtight container.
(For a more detailed explanation you can check out my post on how to make apple chips.)
I am not trying to toot my own horn, but guys, this tastes just like apple pie.
You know how I love apples, right? And apple pie is my favorite pie of all, but I haven’t had it in years since going gluten free.
Tragic, I know.
But now? I can have it every single morning if I want.
For breakfast!
Right after I shoo the dog out of the kitchen. Again.
I love the pictures (again!), especially the last too. I also love the granola. I did notice one small typo in your blog. You wrote:
“And every single time he is told to get out of the kitchen while I am cooking.”
But what I think you meant to write is:
“And every single time he is HOLLERED at to get out of the kitchen while I am cooking.”
What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Candy recently posted..Healthy Halloween No Bake Balls
Haha, laughing at Erik’s comment. You don’t actually holler, do you?
Amazing pictures! Seriously, you need to come take pictures for me. And what a creative recipe. I think I can smell it just by looking at it! Pinning again. 
Laura recently posted..What do you do to #optimizehealth?
Thank you for the compliments! And no, I *never* holler. I have no idea what Erik was talking about.
Candy recently posted..Healthy Halloween No Bake Balls
This sounds utterly delicious! I make at least one batch of granola a week. I use different flavourings, but I’ve never made an apple granola. I can’t wait to give this a try! Thanks so much for sharing this scrumptious recipe!
Sharon @ Bit of the Good Stuff recently posted..Something for the Weekend: Veggie Patch Crumble
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! (Yes, it is already nearly gone!)
Candy recently posted..Healthy Halloween No Bake Balls