Maple Pecan Granola recipe

5 / 31 / 205 / 31 / 20

One thing you can count on in my kitchen pantry is granola and today, I’m sharing my Maple Pecan Granola recipe with you. I’ve been eating store-bought granola for the past ten years, but a few months ago that all changed. My daughter brought home some granola she purchased at the farmer’s market and it was so good! I thought, how hard can it be to make my own? It turns out not hard at all!

My Maple Pecan Granola Recipe is super quick and easy to make. It has just the right amount of sweetness and crunch and it's very customizable!

This granola is not too sweet and it has a tiny bit of salty to it. It’s also got just the right amount of crunch when you bite into it. My sister-in-law says it tastes great on ice cream. My favorite breakfast, seriously every day, is my Maple Pecan Granola on top of plain, nonfat Greek yogurt. And not just any old Greek yogurt.

I love Straus Organic Nonfat Greek Yogurt because it’s creamier and not as thick as most Greek yogurt. And because I can’t tolerate the sour taste of plain yogurt, I sweeten mine with Born Sweet Zing Baking Blend. It only takes one teaspoon to sweeten my yogurt and it adds just ten calories. And don’t forget to add fresh fruit in season. It’s all in the details!

The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can substitute ingredients and customize it to your heart’s content. Also, it makes a lot of granola – over seven cups. I always end up giving some away, and it makes a great gift once you add a cute little label.

Maple Pecan Granola makes a great gift with a customized label!

Ingredients

Let’s talk about the ingredients. I use old fashioned oats or rolled oats (not quick), raw pecans, raw or un-toasted coconut chips, raw sunflower seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds (optional), cinnamon, salt, avocado oil and maple syrup. I try to use organic ingredients when possible. Costco is a great place to buy in bulk, and I found the perfect (read inexpensive) coconut chips at Trader Joe’s (not pictured).

Raw or un-toasted ingredients are recommended simply because they will toast during cooking and they may brown too much if they’re already toasted. I found that out when I used toasted coconut chips. I had to discard as many as I could after baking because they were close to burnt.

The beauty about this recipe and probably any granola recipe is that you can use what you have, omit something such as one of the seeds and substitute ingredients such as olive oil for the avocado oil. If you don’t like coconut, leave it out. If you have walnuts and not pecans, switch to those. If you want to add dried fruit, go for it (after baking)!

Instructions

Once you have all of your ingredients on hand, you just measure them out and add the dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix with a spoon. Then you whisk together the wet ingredients and toss it all together.

Spread the mixture onto two rimmed baking sheets that have been lined with parchment paper (if you have it). I only have one such baking sheet, so I cook the granola in two separate batches. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and give everything a good stir. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until everything is nicely browned.

Maple Pecan Granola before baking. — Before baking

I like to store my granola in quart size glass jars. You could also divide it into smaller mason jars if you want to gift them to others. I ordered 2 1/2″ round labels from Avery and used their online template to design my own labels. It’s really easy to use and adds a nice finishing touch to the jars.

Are you ready to make your own Maple Pecan Granola? I’m sure you’re going to love it!

Maple Pecan Granola

Julie Cefalu

This Maple Pecan Granola is so delicious and easy to make! It has just the right amount of natural sweetness, balanced with a little salt and the perfect crunch.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Servings 7 cups

Equipment

Rimmed baking sheet
Oven

Ingredients

4 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup raw pecans chopped
3/4 cup coconut chips un-toasted
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup hemp seeds (optional)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup avocado oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325° F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: oats, pecans, coconut chips, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, cinnamon and salt.
In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and avocado oil. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until evenly combined.
Divide the granola between the two baking sheets and spread evenly.
Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and stir the granola. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until nicely browned.
Allow to cool before transferring to an airtight container.

Notes

You can customize this recipe by substituting ingredients (such as different types of oils or nuts) and by adding dried fruit to the mix (after baking).

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Projects and UFO’s and cooking

5 / 27 / 205 / 27 / 20

We are still sheltering in place here in Northern California. All this time at home finds me knee deep in sewing projects, UFO’s and cooking in the kitchen – all the things!

I wanted something easy and fun to do in my sewing room, so I decided to catch up with the Silver Linings Free Sew Along with Jacquelynne Steves. You can still sign up for this one and it’s perfect for beginners. This will be a small project that includes twelve 6″ blocks with optional embroidery squares to add in. The first three blocks have been released and I finished them in a few hours. I’m using my stash of Tamara Kate fabric from Michael Miller.

Projects and UFO's and cooking at The Crafty Quilter include these quilt blocks from the free Silver Linings Sew Along by Jacquelynne Steves.

I just completed an embroidery project that kept my hands busy while watching TV in the evenings. This turned out so cute; I love anything with dandelions. This is a free pattern available at All People Quilt.

Projects and UFO's and cooking at The Crafty Quilter include this Dandelion embroidery pattern available for free at All People Quilt.

I’m working on a video for my Versatile Face Mask pattern. This is proving to be a very time consuming project as I have very limited skill or knowledge of video editing. I spent one day on filming and now it’s day six of editing. Ugh.

I have so many UFO’s to pick from, it’s hard to decide where to start. I was inspired by my sister, Cindy, when she showed up with her Splendid Sampler quilt top ready for quilting. It’s such a beautiful collection of blocks all made from her scraps.

This Splendid Sampler Quilt top was made by Cindy Finn. Ready for quilting.

So… I had to dig out my blocks and see what I could make of it. I didn’t get very far; I just laid them all out and took a picture! Now they’re back in the box waiting for the next time I visit. My blocks include just as many from the Patchsmith’s Sampler Blocks as the Splendid Sampler Blocks, and they’re a very bright collection of both.

Projects and UFO's and cooking at The Crafty Quilter include these Splendid Sampler quilt blocks combined with The Patchsmith's Sampler quilt blocks.

Now into the kitchen we go. I have been experimenting with homemade granola recipes and I’ve come up with one that I LOVE. It’s my version of one that my daughter picked up at the Farmer’s Market. It’s loaded with pecans, oatmeal, pumpkin seeds and coconut with maple syrup to sweet it up. I also added sunflower seeds thanks to an idea I got from my friend, Linda H. who shared her granola recipe with me. I would be happy to make a blog post with my maple pecan granola recipe if anyone is interested. I eat it almost every morning for breakfast on top of greek yogurt and fruit.

Projects and UFO's and cooking at The Crafty Quilter include my homemade Pecan Maple Granola.

It’s berry season here, and over the holiday weekend I had an excess of ripe strawberries and blackberries that needed to be used. I made triple berry jam with the addition of raspberries, and since I was in “jam mode”, I made apricot jam from last summer’s frozen apricots. We are flush with jam once again! I always end up sending jars of it to my grandchildren in Texas. They keep me in business!

Projects and UFO's and cooking at The Crafty Quilter include some jam making.

Speaking of grandchildren… my oldest granddaughter, Amelia, just graduated from preschool! She had a virtual graduation ceremony which could only take place at home and in her pajamas, of course. I made her a card this morning and sent it off in the mail with a little gift (and some jam).

Granddaughter Amelia's preschool graduation with homemade card from grandma.

We just celebrated Memorial Day weekend in the US, and it was super quiet and relaxing. I spread out my favorite red, white and blue quilt on the front lawn and had a cocktail there with Mr. Crafty Quilter. Cooper never misses an opportunity for a quilt photo. I made that quilt in…. I don’t know because there’s no quilt label (shame on me). But I think it was in 2010. It was in American Patchwork & Quilting magazine, and the pattern is now available for purchase here. My stars are all a little different from the original pattern, but it’s a beautiful quilt and one of my favorites for picnics.

Oh My Stars quilt made by Julie Cefalu. Original pattern by Alex Anderson for American Patchwork & Quilting.

I also had my Star Spangled Heart wall hangings out on the porch table. This pattern is available in my Etsy shop here.

Star Spangled Heart wall hanging made and designed by Julie Cefalu @ The Crafty Quilter.

That’s a taste of what’s been cooking at my house. I hope you’re all staying safe and positive. This has been a long 2-3 months for everyone, and I know there’s real hardship and struggle out there. Try to find the silver linings, there are many. And keep a sense of humor…

Quilting tip: batch piecing

5 / 20 / 205 / 20 / 20

I’m constantly hearing (and saying) that there’s too many projects and not enough time to complete them all. I love efficiency in quilting, so my quilting tip for you today is batch piecing. You probably already do this, but I thought it deserved a mention.

Batch piecing

We all want to make the most of our time when we’re quilting or sewing. The faster we are, the more projects we can make! As I started a new wall hanging project last weekend, I realized I was prepping and gathering as many pieces of the pattern as possible to take to my sewing machine. Then I laid them out next to my sewing machine and started chain piecing. This is what I call “batch piecing” and it’s so efficient!

Rather than sewing one block or component at a time, I’m sewing as much as I can from all of the components at one time. Then I press those pieces and re-group for the next batch to be sewn.

I get to a point where I’m sewing blocks together, but I do that in an assembly line fashion too. Eventually, I’m sewing larger chunks of the quilt together until I’m left with major seams.

Basket of Blossoms in the making by Julie Cefalu @ The Crafty Quilter. Uses her free quilt block pattern too!

This cute basket of blossoms will be part of a larger wall hanging and a pattern some day! You can find my tutorial for the Blossom Quilt Block here which includes a free, downloadable pattern.

Two more tips for fast piecing

I have two more tips for fast and efficient piecing.

Use a small, water soluble glue stick such as the Sewline Fabric Glue Pen instead of pins to hold “stitch and flip” corners in place and/or matching seams. This gives you greater accuracy and saves time removing pins later. You’ll notice there are no pins in the photo below (or diagonal seam lines).

Tips for fast and efficient piecing @ The Crafty Quilter. Use glue instead of pins and use Diagonal Seam Tape instead of drawing diagonal seam lines.

Use Diagonal Seam Tape to avoid drawing diagonal seam lines. This saves a lot of time! You can read more about this tape at Cluck, Cluck Sew. Notice the lack of drawn lines in that same photo with no pins.

Those are just a few things you can do to speed up your process when making quilts or other sewing projects. I hope you’ll give batch piecing a try. I know it’s not a race, but you might as well be efficient and productive at the same time! How about you? Do you have any other time-saving tips to share?

Thanks for visiting and happy quilting!

Happy Mother’s Day & ongoing projects

5 / 10 / 205 / 10 / 20

I hope you’re enjoying a Happy Mother’s Day, whether you’re a mother, daughter, sister or fur-mom! I was treated to a big breakfast made by three of my kids and husband. So fortunate to have them all here, but missing the gang in Texas. Here’s a snapshot of almost everyone (Kelly, our oldest daughter and mother of our grandkids is not pictured, nor is Mr. Crafty Quilter).

I’ve been busy with spring cleaning and cooking in preparation for our two daughter’s two-week visit (starting yesterday). We are still sheltering in place and really looking forward to the time when we can all hug extended family and friends. I ran into a lovely, albeit bittersweet, video last week called The Great Realisation. It’s a 4-minute bedtime story describing how it took a pandemic to get humanity to create a better world and how hindsight is 2020. Truly worth the watch.

I finished another round of Timeless Tradition quilt blocks for our block of the month at The Granary Quilt Shop. I’m always so happy when these are finished!

Timeless Tradition Quilt Blocks made by Julie Cefalu

Here’s four of the 12″ blocks that I’ve finished so far followed by the 6″ quilt blocks:

I have another row completed for the Safe At Home Modern Row by Row Quilt. I’m just two rows behind now! These are going to be so pretty all together.

Safe at Home Quilt Blocks made by Julie Cefalu

I’ll leave you with a design image of my next project, the Basket of Blossoms wall hanging. The flowers are a variation of my free Blossom Quilt Block tutorial, and now I’m creating a larger pattern that I will have available in my Etsy shop.

Basket of Blossoms Wall Hanging coming soon from The Crafty Quilter

Happy Mother’s Day everyone! I wish you day full of peace, joy and creativity!

Sew Thankful Sunday, May 2020

5 / 3 / 205 / 3 / 20

{I love the idea of “paying it forward”. I think the world would be a better place if we could spread some joy and acknowledgement of good deeds done by others. I try to do that once a month for my Sew Thankful Sunday posts. I highlight some great content that I’ve found on other people’s blogs that I hope will inspire you and reward the originator by bringing traffic to their site. If your blog has been mentioned without your consent, please let me know and I will take you off the current list of featured bloggers.}

Sew Thankful Sunday for May 2020 is is full of ideas to get your space organized and projects to keep you busy during this time of shelter in place.

I love the month of May. It just seems like a happy month to me with Mother’s Day and spring activities happening. As we shelter in place, many of us are getting projects finished and spending time cleaning and organizing. You’ll find plenty to keep you busy and motivated with today’s list of things I’m sew thankful for!

Note: If you use Pinterest, please pin from the original source and not this blog post. Remember, you can click on any of the images in this post and it will open up a new tab to the associated link.

Are you ready for a Quilter’s Spring Cleaning challenge? Join Amber at Gigi’s Thimble and Jessica at Jessica Dayon for 30 days of tasks to get your sewing space clean and organized. I’m in!

I think we’re all ready for a free Happy Dance Pattern from Pat Sloan! This adorable quilt is made from 16″ squares; Pat used a layer cake to make hers. This will definitely put the happy in your dance!

Are you curious about hand quilting? Visit Corey Yoder at Coriander Quilts and her recent blog post is a Q&A of hand quilting topics. It’s a great read!

What do you do when you can’t find the vintage quilt block pattern you were looking for on the internet? You create one yourself AND share it! That’s what Lea Anne at Podunk Pretties did, and she named it the Hunkering Down Quilt Block Tutorial. I love this one!

We hear a lot about silver linings during this pandemic, and it’s certainly coming true at Jacquelynne Steves and her upcoming Silver Linings Free Sew Along. The fun starts in early May, and it will run through the end of July with one quick and easy block per week.

I think we all wish we could quilt feathers into our quilts. At We All Sew, Nina McVeigh has a great tutorial and video to show you how to free motion quilt feathers and how to use rulers on a domestic machine for feathers. It’s a great way to start practicing!

If you haven’t tried working with Kraft-tex, you’ll find some great ideas from Lindsay at Lindsay Sews. She’s a Kraft-tex Embassador and her project for April were these cute pillow boxes – so easy to make!

It’s easy for our sewing space to become crazy and cluttered. Jeni at In Color Order shares some great Tips to Keep your Sewing Table Organized & Clutter Free.

I’m definitely focusing on the silver linings right now, and I’m getting so much done at home. I appreciate everyone’s efforts to provide projects and ideas to keep us all inspired and busy. Thank you for visiting today and for showing your love to all of those bloggers and designers featured!