Orange Cinnamon Granola

Hey you guys! Happy Thursday!! Tomorrow is Friday, and man, I can't wait for the weekend to be here. It's been a crazy week so far, and with a wedding cake in the works for Saturday, THREE family birthday's today, and a bunch of balls I need to keep in the air, I can't wait for a little break. Hopefully there's one on the horizon soon. 

Yeah right. haha

Anyway, we're are officially on day 4 of my Granola Week. Have you found a favorite, yet? I hope so! I tried to narrow it down to granola recipes with different flavors, genres, etc. 

Today is this amazing Orange Cinnamon Granola! 

This granola is for those who looooove the taste of orange with that lovely cinnamon flavor wrapped right around it like a hug. Cheesy, but true. It's what orange dreams are made of, folks. This recipe uses 2 full oranges zested to perfection right into the granola - which means lots of flavor in each bite. 

I tossed in walnuts this time along with the chia seeds. You can really use any nuts you have on hand (I wouldn't recommend peanuts for this one, though. Peanuts and oranges together is kind of weird to me, haha). 

The walnuts toast up with all that maple syrup, brown sugar, and almost transform into candied walnuts while baking. Kind of awesome, just sayin.

I feel like a broken record after I say "mix together the dry ingredients, then the wet, then combine them both, bake, dry, etc" but HEY! That's how you make a delicious granola right at home, and if the process isn't broken, I'm not going to fix it. haha. 

Anyway, gotta go run and keep baking that wedding cake. I have 8 more layers left (baked the bottom half yesterday), for the middle and top layer. Here we go, wish me luck, and I'll see your beautiful face right back here tomorrow for the grand finale of Granola Week! 

xo

Orange Cinnamon Granola 

makes 3 cups

ingredients:

2 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 Tablespoon chia seeds

2 Tablespoons brown sugar (optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

3 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted 

1/3 cup 100% maple syrup

zest of 2 large oranges

1 Tablespoon vanilla

method:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. 

2. In a large bowl, stir together oats, walnuts, chia seeds, cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt. 

3. In a small bowl, whisk together coconut oil, syrup, zest, and vanilla. 

4. Pour wet ingredients over the dry and stir thoroughly to coat all the oats. Pour mixture out over the prepared baking sheet and flatten to an even layer. 

5. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the sheet and bake for another 20 minutes until the outside is golden crispy. Check on it 10 minutes into the second 20-minute half. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to a week for best freshness.