Pumpkin Fig Hazelnut Granola

I was looking for something to do with the remnants of the can of pumpkin from last weekend's pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and luckily the blogosphere is awash with pumpkin recipes this time of year. I stumbled upon a recipe for pumpkin cranberry granola on the Framed blog and as it only calls for 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, that was just about perfect.

But I soon realized that I didn't have some of the other ingredients that the recipe calls for, so I just threw in what I had. The recipe below is for the granola I ended up making.

Pumpkin Fig Hazelnut Granola

5 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom (I would probably leave this out next time as it overpowered the other spices)
3/4 teaspoon salt (I used table salt, but I think I would use coarse kosher salt next time)
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup real maple syrup (don't even think of using pancake syrup)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup dried cranberries (I would have used more cranberries if I had them, but that's the beauty of granola, you can throw in whatever you have on hand or prefer.)
3/4 cup chopped dried figs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. (I have mixed feelings about the use of parchment paper here. I felt that it absorbed too much of the granola's moisture and its sogginess slowed the process of the granola crisping. It eventually did get crispy, but I think it took longer than necessary. Additionally, the whole purpose of the parchment paper is to prevent sticking and for ease of clean-up, but I found that the oats sneaked under the parchment anyway, which defeated the purpose. I probably won't use parchment paper next time.)

2. Stir oats, spices, salt and hazelnuts together in a large bowl.

3. Whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin puree, canola oil, honey, maple syrup and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour over oat mixture and stir to combine. Spread mixture onto the baking sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven and stir. Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven, stir in dried fruits and bake for another 5 minutes. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container.