Homemade Pumpkin Pecan Granola

While growing up, I remember granola being a hearty mix of oats and honey with few other ingredients added in.  Today, if you walk down the grocery aisle, youll find an entire section devoted to granola in all sorts of creative flavors and combinations. With more and more people making small-batch variations of their favorite granola at home, making custom granola has never been easier.  And its much more satisfying than the store-bought varieties. Ive been making granola with my kids for years, and Ive discovered preparing and eating homemade granola is not only better, it is way more economical than buying it from a store. My husband had a favorite pumpkin granola he enjoyed for years.  Recently we discovered this granola had been discontinued that was it.  No more pumpkin granola for us.  But instead of accepting our granola tragedy, I decided to make my own version.  My Pumpkin Pecan Granola is a wonderful recipe with just the right amount of add-ins and pumpkin flavor. Not only can you taste the pumpkin, I love the toasted coconut shavings and the sweet but tart dried cranberries that speckle my granola mix.  Chopped pecans and pumpkin seeds give the granola a great crunchy texture, and the spices and maple syrup give this mix an autumn twist. When you are making this granola, allow yourself to think out of the box and adapt this recipe to your liking.  You might prefer more or less spice. Or, you might hate cranberries but love candied ginger.  By all means, change it however you would like and make it truly your own. I love this granola recipe and hope you do, too. Enjoy!