Recipe: Gingerbread Granola

As you may know, if you've been reading SIL for a little while; breakfast is my favourrrrrrrrrrrrrrittttttttttteeeeeeeeeeeeee meal of the day. Favourite with all those extra letters because I could seriously eat it all day every day. 

So naturally, being the breakfast addict I am, when I was working on Christmas recipes to share with you this year, I knew I had to make a Christmas-y granola.

So I put my thinking cap on - and before I knew it, I was in the kitchen whipping up a patch of granola and the house was filled with the Christmas-y smells of cinnamon, ginger and molasses. 

When I first came up with the idea of making gingerbread granola, the SIL family thought I was bonkers. "You mean you're going to make oats taste like gingerbread cookies..... and it's going to be healthy?.... Mmm... okay then..." "Gingerbread is a cookie Kristy, not a breakfast" "What do you mean you're going to make Gingerbread granola?! How does that even work?!" 

But I let them be skeptical, knowing they'd change their minds after tasting it. 

At first, it was silent crunching. 

Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Suspense.

I thought I'd botched the whole gingerbread granola idea and completely failed - but then came "Mmmmmmm"'s and "Yummmmmmm"'s and a big sigh of relief from me. 

Over the next two weeks, we decided that this gingerbread granola was the perfect Christmas breakfast - especially with chewy raisins added in (highly, highly, highly recommended) for a little bit of extra sweetness and texture.

It's also the perfect recipe to share with the ones you love as it's easily made in big quantities, keeps well and tastes incredible - and it's different from your "usual" Christmas treats!

So let me give you the recipe for our Healthy Gingerbread Granola! >>

Low Fat & Healthy Gingerbread Granola makes ~5 cups
low fat, healthy, gluten free* and perfect for gifting!
adapted from our favourite Honey Vanilla Granola Recipe

4 cups (360g) gluten free rolled oats* 
1/3 cup (80g) honey or maple syrup 
2 tbsp (30g) molasses 
2 tsp vanilla extract 
1 tbsp rice bran oil (or neutral tasting oil of your choice)
1/2 - 1 tsp ground ginger***
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice 
Pinch of salt 
1 egg white, whisked until frothy
Optional but highly recommended: 1/2-1 cup raisins or dried fruit of your choice!

• Preheat your oven to 150C/300F
• Line two baking trays with baking paper and set aside 
• Place your oats in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
• Whisk your egg white until just frothy and set aside
• Heat your honey/maple syrup, molasses, vanilla, oil, spices and salt in a small saucepan over a medium heat until combined
• Pour your liquid mixture over your oats, stirring to combine - adding your egg white in once your oats are almost completely coated and stirring to incorporate. 
• Pour your granola mixture onto your baking trays, flattening out slightly but still leaving clumps to make crunchy clusters!
• Bake for 20-45 minutes (depending on your oven and how much granola you have) or until your granola is crunchy and not longer that sticky to touch. If your granola seems to be browning too quickly, turn the oven off and leave to finish cooking in the warm over for another 10 or so minutes (so that your granola is dried out and crunchy). Be sure to rotate your pans during baking to ensure that they're evenly cooked.
• Mix your raisins or dried fruit through your cooked granola after it's cooled slightly.
• Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight jar or container. We've never had a batch of granola last more than a month (and that was after hiding it to test freshness!), however, it will keep fresh for quite some time stored at room temperature in a sealed jar or container.

*Find out more about Oats on a Gluten Free Diet. If you cannot tolerate oats you may use quinoa flakes instead, however, this will change the taste dramatically.

**Use more or less ginger depending on how much you like ginger! We used 1 tsp for a deliciously spiced granola.

***The egg white isn't a must, however, we do recommend it for super crunchy granola with delicious clusters!

But tell me, if you could only eat one type of meal for the rest of your life; what would it be? Breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert?

I'd have to go with breakfast!