Toasted Apple-Cinnamon Muesli

This will be the first of a few apple-cinnamon creations coming your way. I just love apple so much and it’s versatile enough to pack it into every single meal. Be it breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks, the possibilities are endless: have apple thinly sliced on top of a energizing lunch salad, pureed with seasonal vegetables creating a hearty soup or simply toasted right out of the oven in the morning, sprinkled on top of yoghurt or oatmeal.

Cinnamon is a spice I practically use every day throughout the autumn and winter months. It seems so innocent just sitting on your kitchen spice rack. In reality though, it contains a number of health benefits, such as the ability to stabilize blood sugar and to lower bad cholesterol. So together with the apples which {I’m sure there’s no need of me telling you} are healthy this muesli is a real treat!

Apart from containing old-fashioned oats I threw in almonds and walnuts and sunflower and sesame seeds for some extra crunch. As with all the granolas or toasted mueslis I make everything can be easily thrown together in a large enough bowl to minimize dishes. A dash of cinnamon and brown sugar add both sweetness and spice and everything is rounded off perfectly with the essential ingredient…

…unsweetened apple sauce, 2 whole cups!

Honey is my natural sweetener of choice that I use in all my granolas. It adds a subtle hint of sweetness but does not push the apple flavor aside completely. They just complement each other perfectly. Apple, cinnamon and honey are a wonderful trio if you ask me.

After toasting the mixture for about an hour you are left with crunchy bliss. I added in some raisins, just to complete the fall composition but this is optional, of course. I understand if you dislike raisins, half my family has the same feelings for them!

Toasted Apple-Cinnamon Muesli

adapted from The Best Granola Recipe by David Lebovitz

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Ingredients:

• 5 cups (500g) rolled oats
• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 3/4 cup sesame seeds
• 3/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 cups unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 tbsp. coconut oil
• optional: 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 140°C.
2. In a LARGE bowl mix together the dry ingredients: oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts, brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Into a small sauce pan on medium heat, add the apple sauce, honey and coconut. Stir until warm and the oil has combined with the apple sauce.
4. Add the apple sauce mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Transfer the ingredients to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 45-60 minutes. Check and stir the granola every 10 minutes.
6. Let it cool completely before adding the raisins.

Tagged as: apple, applesauce, cinnamon, nuts, raisins, seeds