breakfast, granola/yogurt parfaits

Pumpkin Flax Molasses Granola

Pumpkin Flax Molasses Granola - pumpkin seeds, oats, flax and puffed rice mixed with molasses and coconut oil for a crunchy snack to top yogurt or milk.
So I have a story for you…A story about this Pumpkin Flax Molasses Granola that looks so innocent and crunchy and delicious.

That Pumpkin Flax Molasses Granola was a s.t.r.u.g.g.l.e.

I’ve never really played around with molasses before. It’s one of those “sweeteners” that isn’t used as often as honey, maple syrup or sugar. So as I was making this granola, I thought, “why not just substitute my usual go-to sweeteners with molasses?”

Pumpkin Flax Molasses Granola - pumpkin seeds, oats, flax and puffed rice mixed with molasses and coconut oil for a crunchy snack to top yogurt or milk.
So I poured it all in, mixed it all around, and gave it a taste.

And I gagged.

The granola tasted like soy sauce. No joke, oats and nuts and cute little puffed rice soaked in SOY SAUCE. So yuck. And I had used ALL of my oats, ALL of my puffed rice and ALL of my pumpkin seeds to make this granola. It’s A LOT of granola, and as I threw down that soy-sauce-soaked spoon with little oats still clinging to it, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. I just wasted so many ingredients and so much time. But, that’s the life of a food blogger…

I almost threw the entire pan away then and there. But, the oven was already pre-heated and a little voice inside my head told me to just bake it. Just bake it and see what happens. So I did. And guess what?

It was delicious.

Pumpkin Flax Molasses Granola - pumpkin seeds, oats, flax and puffed rice mixed with molasses and coconut oil for a crunchy snack to top yogurt or milk.
I don’t know if there were little oven elves who switched it out with a different granola, but the granola I pulled out of the oven was far from the soy-sauce-tasting horror I put in there. As the granola baked, the molasses became sweeter and sweeter, and caramelized into a tasty treat. The stickiness helped to clump the granola extra well, and you guys. It’s now one of my fave granolas!

Pumpkin Flax Molasses Granola - pumpkin seeds, oats, flax and puffed rice mixed with molasses and coconut oil for a crunchy snack to top yogurt or milk.
So, the struggle was over, right? Nooope. I go to photograph it and somehow I bumped the jar, which sent granola spraying everywhere. It flew into the deepest crevasses of every nook and cranny…

Pumpkin Flax Molasses Granola - pumpkin seeds, oats, flax and puffed rice mixed with molasses and coconut oil for a crunchy snack to top yogurt or milk.
That pile of granola there in the back of that photo was not staged people 😉

This Pumpkin Flax Molasses Granola is naughty. But naughty granola is the best kind apparently. So make a batch and enjoy every bite (once it’s baked).

Just don’t lick the spoon.

Pumpkin Flax Molasses Granola - pumpkin seeds, oats, flax and puffed rice mixed with molasses and coconut oil for a crunchy snack to top yogurt or milk.

Pumpkin Flax Molasses Granola

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Yield: 8 cups granola

Ingredients

  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 2 cups puffed rice
  • 1/2 cup whole flax seeds
  • 1 1/2 cup shelled, raw pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 - 1 tsp. kosher salt (to taste preference)
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  3. Combine molasses, maple syrup and coconut oil in a small saucepan and heat until melted. Stir to combine.
  4. Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix well until incorporated.
  5. Bake 20 minutes, stir, cook another 10 minutes and stir again. Cook 10 more minutes, take out of the oven and let it cool. (Don't touch it so it can harden into clumps)!
  6. Once completely cool, break it into pieces and store in an air-tight container.
https://www.kiwiandcarrot.com/pumpkin-flax-molasses-granola/

Want more granola recipes? Try this Spiced Granola, or this Cranberry Cashew Buckwheat Granola!

Pumpkin Flax Molasses Granola - pumpkin seeds, oats, flax and puffed rice mixed with molasses and coconut oil for a crunchy snack to top yogurt or milk.

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