Pumpkin Pie Spice Granola

The oats level goes down and the granola level goes up. Law of conservation of breakfast.

It's all about the pumpkin right now. Pumpkin pie spice this and that. If you are looking for a treat, check out these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. If you are looking for something you can enjoy every single day until the pumpkin rage passes, here is a granola for your breakfast. It uses pumpkin pie spice and shelled pumpkin seeds. Like our standard low-sugar granola with a couple of tweeks. Granola is the chameleon of the breakfast pantry.

Pumpkin Spice Granola
(4 cups, at least 8 servings)

3 cups Rolled Oats , not quick-cooking or instant
1 cup unsalted raw shelled pumpkin seeds (also called pepitas)
½ cup Dried Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
a Pinch of Salt
¼ cup Honey
½ cup Chopped Dried Apricots
½ teaspoon Vanilla or Maple Extract

Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine oats, seeds, coconut, pumpkin pie spice, honey, and salt in a large heatproof bowl. It's going to be clumpy, but don't worry about that. Dump onto a large rimmed cookie sheet. Don't clean out of the bowl; you'll be using it again. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, stirring it every 10 minutes so that it browns evenly. Keep an eye on it near the end of baking so that it doesn't burn. Transfer the cooked, hot granola from the cookie sheet back to the bowl. Drizzle on the vanilla or maple. Allow to cool and mix in the dried apricot. Store in a cool, dry place.

Note: Pumpkin pie spice is a combination of cinnamon, ground ginger, ground allspice, ground mace, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves. Sometimes all of them, sometimes the first three. If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, substitute ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, and a pinch of any combination of whatever else you've got. If you don't like something, leave it out.