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    Home » Breakfast

    Christmas Granola

    Published: Dec 16, 2020 · by Elizabeth Waterson · This post may contain affiliate links, which may pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting Confessions of a Baking Queen!

    Jump to Recipe
    chrismas granola in a small bowl on a red and green checkered linen with bowls of ingredients in the background on a grey background

    This warmly spiced granola is filled with cranberries and pistachios. Orange zest and mixed spice flavor this crunchy Christmas Granola. Step-by-step photos teach you how to make this tasty granola recipe. A perfect homemade gift your friends and family will love this Christmas Granola! 

    chrismas granola in a small bowl on a red and green checkered linen with bowls of ingredients in the background on a grey background

    I was feeling Christmasy what can I say? It's December after all so no one can give me crap for that. Like people do in November...

    I am all about Christmas. I love it. It truly is the best time of the year. And since I love Granola, it was only natural for a Christmas Granola to be made.

    This came together in a cinch. I used my favorite Maple Almond Granola Clusters recipe and tweaked it for Christmas.

    This literally takes all of 5 minutes together and in the words of my mother "You need to package this up and sell it" it is that good. Perfect for Christmas Gifts.

    What makes this Christmas? Cranberries, Pistachios, Mixed Spice & Orange. To me that is Christmas. The flavors anyways.

    Fair warning, you will need to hide this in the cupboard so it is out of sight otherwise you will eat the whole batch within a day.

    granola and yogurt in a bowl on a green and red checkered linen next to ingredients and coffee cup on a grey background

    For another delicious cranberry recipe try my oatmeal cranberry cookies.

    Let's get to the recipe.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Looking for more granola recipes
    • Recipe Card
    • Recipe Ratings & Comments

    Ingredients

    For this cranberry and pistachio granola you will need:

    • Coconut Oil. The oil helps bind everything together and give the granola a crispy texture. You'll need melted coconut oil.
    • Brown Sugar. We don't use a ton but this and the maple syrup will lightly sweeten the granola
    • Real Maple Syrup. Use the real deal maple syrup! I get a good size bottle for a great price at Costco.
    • Real Vanilla Extract. Don't use the imitation stuff!
    • Orange. The combination of warm spices and orange is a Christmas tradition for me. You can't beat it! We will use the zest of the orange in this recipe, the oils from the zest really give the granola a nice light orange flavor.
    • Mixed Spice. This delicious spice blend screams Christmas to me. You can make your own at home, here is a recipe for homemade mixed spice mix
    • Sliced Almonds. You can use slithered almonds too, I often do a combo of both if I have them both on hand. You don't need to use roasted nuts because we will be cooking them.
    • Rolled Oats. I don't suggest using quick oats as you won't get the same chewy texture of a full rolled oat, they'll also cook a lot quicker.
    • Unshelled Pistachios. I like to give them a rough chop. We'll add these to the last ten minutes of the granola baking so the nuts are lightly toasted. Trust me always toast your nuts!!
    • Dried Cranberries. If you add the cranberries to the granola to bake you will end up with crunchy cranberries, trust me to add them at the end!

    Instructions

    Preheat the oven to 325F/162C and line a baking sheet with a Silpat liner or parchment paper.

    You're going to want to zest a full orange, make sure not to zest the white part of the orange. I absolutely love this Microplane zester, makes zesting so easy!

    orange zested in a microplane zester over a bowl of ingredients on a grey surface

    In a medium bowl mix together the maple syrup, brown sugar, coconut oil, vanilla extract, mixed spice, and zest of a full orange. Make sure everything is evenly combined.

    liquid ingredients for Christmas granola mixed together in a glass bowl on a grey surface

    In a large bowl mix together the oats, almonds, and mixed spice then pour the liquid ingredients in and mix until everything is evenly coated. 

    liquid ingredients poured into dry ingredients for granola in a glass bowl on a light grey surface

    Add the granola to the baking sheet and use a spatula to press down the granola so it is in a compact even layer. Making this compact layer helps create granola clusters.

    granola patted into a silpat lined baking sheet before baking sitting on a grey surface

    Bake for 20 minutes then sprinkle pistachios on top and bake for an additional 10 minutes, the granola should be golden brown, the nuts will still look green.

    pistachios added to granola then cranberries added on a sheet pan on a light grey surface

    Take out of the oven and set aside to cool for one hour. Add the cranberries and use clean hands to break the granola into chunks

    close up of cranberry pistachio granola

    Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

    Because of the long shelf life this cranberry pistachio granola is perfect to package up for a delicious edible Christmas gift!

    cranberry pistachio granola packaged in a Santa clear bag on a light grey surface
    overhead view of cranberry pistachio granola in a small bowl on a red and green checkered linen on a grey surface

    Looking for more granola recipes

    • Banana Nut Granola
    • Cookie Butter Granola
    • Homemade Maple Granola

    ★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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    Recipe Card

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    christmas granola in a small bowl on a red and green checkered linen with bowls of ingredients in the background on a grey background

    Christmas Granola

    ★★★★★

    5 from 1 reviews

    Print Recipe
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    This warmly spiced granola is filled with cranberries and pistachios. Orange zest and mixed spice flavor this crunchy Christmas Granola. Step-by-step photos teach you how to make this tasty granola recipe.

    • Total Time: 45 minutes
    • Yield: 10 Servings 1x

    Ingredients

    Units Scale
    • 64 grams (¼ cup) Melted Coconut Oil
    • 74 grams (⅓ cup) Brown Sugar
    • 74 grams (⅓ cup) Real Maple Syrup
    • 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
    • 1 Large Orange, Zested
    • 270 grams (3 cups) Rolled Oats
    • 30 grams (⅓ Cup) Sliced Almonds
    • 2 Teaspoons Mixed Spice
    • 110 grams (1 Cup) Unshelled Pistachios, roughly chopped
    • 120 grams (1 Cup) Dried Cranberries

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 325F/162C and line a baking sheet with a Silpat liner or parchment paper.
    2. In a medium bowl mix together the maple syrup, brown sugar, coconut oil, vanilla extract, mixed spice, and zest of a full orange.
    3. In a large bowl mix together the oats, almonds, and mixed spice then pour the liquid ingredients in and mix until everything is evenly coated. 
    4. Add the granola to the baking sheet and use a spatula to press down the granola so it is in a compact even layer. This helps create granola clusters.
    5. Bake for 20 minutes then sprinkle pistachios on top and bake for an additional 10 minutes, the granola should be golden brown, the nuts will still look green. Take out of the oven and set aside to cool for one hour. Add the cranberries and use clean hands to break the granola into chunks
    6. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

    Equipment

    half sheet pans

    Half Sheet Pan

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    silpat liner

    Silpat

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    • Author: Elizabeth Waterson I Confessions of a Baking Queen
    • Prep Time: 5
    • Cook Time: 40
    • Category: Breakfast
    • Method: Baking
    • Cuisine: American

    Keywords: cranberry pistachio granola, Christmas granola, pistachio granola

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @confessionsofabakingqueen on Instagram and hashtag it #cbqbakes

    Recipe Card powered byTasty Recipes

    This recipe was originally published December 12, 2016 as of November 20, 2020 the recipe and photos have been updated

    Christmas Granola just baked and ruffled up on a silpat lined baking sheet
    Christmas Granola in a gold lined cream bowl on a light grey background
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    1. Sibel says

      October 28, 2020 at 9:04 am

      How much cranberries did you use? I can't seem to find them in the ingredient list.

      Reply
      • Elizabeth Waterson says

        October 28, 2020 at 9:36 am

        Hi Sibel, so sorry about that, it completely disappeared! I use about 1 cup of dried cranberries. Please let me know if you have any other questions or if you try this recipe. Thank you! XX Liz

        Reply
        • Sibel says

          October 29, 2020 at 12:41 am

          Thank you Liz! Can't wait to try yhis out, will let you know when I did!

          Reply
          • Sibel Tasdogen says

            December 22, 2020 at 3:29 am

            Finally made this, and I love it! The delicious smell lingered in my home the whole day. Added some miniature white chocolate stars to make it even more "christmas". Thank you for this lovely recipe!

            ★★★★★

            Reply
            • Elizabeth Waterson says

              December 24, 2020 at 8:51 am

              Thank you so much for coming back to review the recipe Sibel, I truly appreciate it!! The aroma from this one sure does make your house smell amazing! Adding white choc stars sounds absolutely perfect, need to try that myself!! I hope you have a lovely Christmas. XX Liz

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    Waterson, Elizabeth Cropped Size Photo CAke copy 2

    Hiya! I am Elizabeth Waterson, welcome to my treat-filled site. After spending 15 years in the restaurant industry and growing up baking, I wanted to share my love of baking with you all. My step-by-step tutorials will help you learn how to bake at home. Confessions of a Baking Queen (CBQ) has been featured in CBS LA, HuffPost Taste, BuzzFeed, Taste of Home, and more! Here you will find loads of sweet recipes with a few savory ones for good measure. Feel free to message me with any questions! Happy Baking! 

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