For the Apple Cinnamon Lover

Good evening!

Hope you all had a great weekend. I managed to relax, study and make an other of my homemade gifts!

I now only have one last gift to make. I am making it at the last minute, Tuesday night (I leave Wednesday to go see my father).

I made an apple cinnamon trail mix with an apple cinnamon granola. A great combo for a simple gift! I did have a difficult time finding something to put them in. Mason jars would be fine but I don’t have any! I found these milk bottles unexpectedly and love them!

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Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups nuts
• 1/3 cup rolled oats
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 cups dried fruit

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, mix nuts, rolled oats, chia seeds and oil. In a small bowl, whisk together applesauce, maple syrup and cinnamon. Add the wet ingredients to the nuts and mix until coated. Spread evenly on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and add dried fruit. Store in an air-tight container.

I made mine with almonds, cashews, pecans, raisins, currants and dried cranberries.

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown rice crisp cereal
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 heaping cup coarsely chopped dried apple rings

Directions: Preheat oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. In a larger bowl, mix oats, cereal, wheat germ, sesame seeds and pecans. Add wet ingredients and toss until well coated. Spread mixture evenly on the baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, stirring after 15. Transfer to a bowl, add chopped apple rings and store in an air-tight container.

Note: depending on your stove, you might need to bake at 300°F.

This is my first homemade granola and I love it! I made a little more than what went in the milk bottle so lucky me has homemade granola for this week’s breakfasts ;-).

Did you make so gifts this year? What did you make?
What is your favorite gift that you are giving this year? My favorite homemade one is my coffee mixes because I thought a lot about them and my favorite store-bought gift is for a gift exchange: blooming tea and a glass teapot!