All the flavors of classic gingerbread in a spiced, nutty flavorful granola with big snack-worthy clusters. Vegan, gluten-free, and the perfect edible gift! 
Friends! I’m so excited. I’ve been waiting for months to share holiday recipes with you! I am still so full from Thanksgiving weekend that I almost can’t even think about anymore food. Almost… 
But this granola is so special that I actually haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I made it. In fact, I’ve already run out, and usually I try to think of an other granola I’d like to make so I can share a new recipe, but I think I have to make this one again because it’s literally all I can think about. 
I had my doubts going in. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get the pure gingerbread flavor to sit just right in a nutty granola, and when I tasted the batter (yes, I taste unbaked granola), I was sure the molasses flavor was going to overpower everything. 
You know how the best ginger molasses cookies are the ones rolled in sugar? Well, they’re my favorite. Just before baking, I made a game time decision to sprinkle a little granulated sugar over the batch, and it was the BEST idea. I only used 2 tablespoons (on a 12ish cup recipe), but it added that extra sweetness that I would want from my gingerbread, and helped tone down the molasses a bit. 
Feel free to altar the sugar and spices to fit your preferences. I use a very simple basic granola recipe for all of my granola and just tweak things here and there to bring the flavor profile I want. The recipe is hard to mess up, and super adaptable to your tastes. 
The recipe is super simple and easy to make, plus it makes a HUGE batch of granola, so if you’re doing edible gifts for any of your friends/family/teachers/coworkers/bike shop employees (my husband insists), you’ll only need one batch, and you’ll still have some left over for you, because trust me, you’ll want some. In fact, you won’t want to share any of it once you sample a cluster. 
Trust me, those big granola clusters are even more addicting than even the softest ginger cookies.
All the flavors of classic gingerbread in a spiced, nutty flavorful granola with big snack-worthy clusters. Vegan, gluten-free, and the perfect edible gift!
Ingredients
- 5 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups pecans, roughly chopped
- 2/3 cup almonds, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cloves
- Generous pinch salt
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup apple butter
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300. Line two large baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a very large bowl, mix together the oats, nuts, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.
- In a small saucepan, warm the apple butter, molasses, brown sugar, coconut oil, and vanilla extract until well combined, whisking constantly.
- Add the molasses mixture into the dry ingredients and toss to combine. Divide mixture evenly between your 2 prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle each baking pan with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar.
- Bake until browned and crispy, about 1 hour. Lightly toss granola half way through. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. The granola will stay fresh for at least one month. I’ve never made a batch last any longer than that, but it’s still great a month in!