apple redux

You might remember last year, and how I got (fairly easily) talked into buying an entire bushel of apples. Well, this year I did so willingly. So far, we've had two batches of applesauce (I think about 7 quart jars), one batch of apple butter (7 pint jars), one apple crisp, one batch of apple muffins, three or four jars worth of dried apples, and I've still got a few pounds left. Hmm, maybe I'll buy a little less next year? Probably not. I've come to the realization that we need a chest freezer, because we're running out of room...

Anyways, I know I shared a few apple recipes with you all last year, and in an effort to not just repeat myself, I've got a new one here: Apple Cinnamon Granola. I used some of the dried apples that I made with the dehydrator that Jared's uncles lent us last year. If you can't make your own dried apples, just buy some at the store.

I've pretty much been making Molly's granola since I first posted about that recipe last spring, and as much as I love it, it was time for a bit of variety. I wanted something a little simpler, with not too many extras. So this one is super easy. You can totally add any other nuts or seeds that you might like, you just might have to increase the sweetener a little (depending on how sweet you like it).

Apple Cinnamon Granola

5 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds (or any other nut you want)
3/4 cup flax seeds
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tbl canola oil.
about 1 cup of dried apples (chopped into small pieces)

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Mix the oats, nuts, flax seeds, cinnamon, and salt together in a big bowl. Once everything is well combined, add the applesauce, maple syrup, and canola oil. Mix well. Spread the mixture onto two baking sheets, you want it spread out pretty thinly so everything gets baked evenly. Bake for about 35 minutes, mixing it up every 10 minutes. Let it cool on the pans before transferring to another container and mixing in the dried apples. Enjoy!