Pumpkin-Spice Granola

recipe and photo from Recipes for You

3-1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

2-1/2 cups rice cereal (like Rice Krispies)
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.

In a large bowl, combine oatmeal and rice cereal. In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin pie spice, salt, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla. Whisk until very smooth. Combine the wet ingredients with the oatmeal and rice cereal, stir to coat evenly. Spread onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, tossing and turning with a spatula every 10 minutes. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the top and bake another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the dried cranberries over the top, tossing and turning to distribute evenly. Allow to cool completely. You may need to stir the mixture every so often to make sure it dries out enough. Once the granola has cooled completely, you can store it in an air tight container.