It is no secret that I love all things pumpkin and all things that follow a theme.  The theme I have been sticking with most recently is the “autumn” theme.

As I was getting food ready for the week on Sunday, I had the urge to make some granola.  Not just any granola though, pumpkin granola.

I am in love!  This stuff is crunchy, full of fall flavors, and delicious on it’s own.

Typically, Brian likes to enjoy his granola on yogurt rather than on it’s own.  With this stuff, he has been eating it just plain out of a bowl with his fingers.  I think he likes it 😉

When making granola in the past, I have used canola oil or nut butter as the “fat” part of the homemade granola equation.  With this batch, not only did I experiment with the pumpkin flavor, but I decided to experiment by using coconut oil instead of my typical canola oil or nut butter.

I was nervous as to what the end result would be, but I think that the granola is extra crunchy because coconut oil hardens at room temperature.  I think I may be using coconut oil in all of my granola recipes from now on! And no it didn’t make the granola taste the slightest bit like coconut.

Pumpkin Pie Granola

Ingredients:

• 3 cups oats
• 1/3 cup chopped praline pecans (or regular pecans)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup pumpkin
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup chopped dates
• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, roasted