The first "trial" from my new home.

This granola is delicious. I really love the flavor from the applesauce. It reminds me of the juices that seep out of an apple pie and get caramelized. When I was cooking the apple, the water cooked off and it browned a bit too much while I wasn't paying attention. Luckily it didn't burn and I think the flavor improved because of it. I added more water, scraped up the browned bits, drained it a little, then added a bit more water while it finished cooking.

The finished applesauce ended up being a little bit more than 1/2 cup, but I used it all anyway. I baked the granola for 45 minutes and when I spread it out to cool I noticed it was still pretty moist, so I returned it to the oven for another 20 minutes, watching it to make sure it didn't get too dark.

3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup flax seeds, ground
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
dash freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce*
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Combine oats, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, and almonds in a large bowl. In a small bowl combine oil, honey, applesauce, vanilla, spices, salt, and ground flax seed and stir together. Pour honey mixture over the oat mixture and mix well. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and mix well.

Spread in a 13x9x2 pan and bake for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until golden.

Spread in another pan to cool, stirring occasionally for the first few minutes to prevent clumping. Store in an air-tight container after completely cooled.

*Homemade applesauce: 1 small apple, cored, peeled, and chopped (I used a braeburn apple this time). Add a bit of water and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes, adding more water as necessary. When apple is very soft, drain some of the excess water and blend until smooth.