Death By Chocolate Granola

Oh my! Oh my! I am in big trouble!  This chocolate granola is insanely good, insanely chocolatey, and I can't stop eating it!  I spied this recipe on Pinch of Yum last week and knew I had to make it and eat it soon.  I've made chocolate granola before and loved it, but the chocolate chips, coarse salt and sugar sprinkled on after baking in this recipe had me sold. (I'm a sucker for a sprinkling of good coarse salt.)  Be warned that this granola is extremely addicting!  (Tonight after my kids go to bed I'm going to fill one of my glass jars up with this granola and ice cold milk and plant myself on the couch and watch The Voice.)

 

 

Death By Chocolate Granola

 

3 cups rolled oats

1 1/4 cup sliced raw almonds

1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2/3 cup melted coconut oil

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

3 tablespoons turbinado sugar

Coarse sea salt (Fleur de sel or Maldon are my favorites)

 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

 

In a medium bowl combine oats, almonds, coconut, cocoa powder, and espresso powder.

 

Whisk the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla together.  Pour over the oat mixture and stir to combine.  Spread the granola on a large baking sheeting in an even layer.

 

Bake for 50 minutes without stirring (no stirring=better clusters).  Rotate the pan halfway through baking.  After 50 minutes, sprinkle the cup of chocolate chips over the top of the granola and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes until the chocolate chips are soft and melty. 

 

Remove granola from oven and sprinkle with turbinado sugar and coarse salt to taste.  The sugar and salt should stick to the melty chocolate chips. Mmmmm!

 

Let the granola cool for 1-2 hours (It was during this cooling process that I couldn't not stop snacking).  Gently scoop the granola into an air tight container and try not to consume in one day.

 

Recipe slightly adapted from Pinch of Yum 

Double Chocolate Coconut Almond Granola

Do you have a sugary sweet cereal that you really like?  Todd and Noah's favorite is Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Preston and Stella would pick Lucky Charms (truthfully, Preston would pick to have a bowl of Wheat Chex over sweet cereal most of the time and Stella just picks out all the marshmallow pieces).  For me, I go through phases.  Growing up, I remember going to Bear Lake in the summer with my family and eating bowls of Fruit Loops or Cap'n Crunch while the morning sun streamed in through the windows.  I remember being in High School and coming home after cheer practice and eating lots of small bowls of Cocoa Pebbles (you had to pour a small amount because they would get soggy too fast) with really cold milk.  In college I loved Golden Grahams.  I remember sitting in my apartment on the kitchen counter with one of my best friends eating an entire box (that just so happened to belong to another friend, sorry Mandy).  When I made this double chocolate granola the other day, I wasn't trying to replicate or make a slightly healthier version of a sweet cereal from my past, but it kind of worked out that way.  This double chocolate granola totally reminds me of a grown up version (a better version) of Cocoa Pebbles.  

 

Double Chocolate Coconut Almond Granola

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup flaked unsweetened coconut

1 cup chopped coarsely chopped almonds

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup (heaping) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl stir together oats, coconut, almonds, cinnamon, and salt.  In a small saucepan melt butter with honey over low heat, stirring.  Add cocoa powder to butter/honey and stir until smooth.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  Pour butter mixture over oat mixture and stir until combined and everything is moistened.

On a large baking sheet, spread the granola evenly in a thin layer.  Bake, stirring every 5 minutes to keep from sticking or burning, until golden brown and crisp, about 20-25 minutes.  Once granola has finished cooking, remove from oven and while it's still hot, pour granola into a large bowl.  Add chocolate chips to the granola and stir to combine (the chocolate chips should be completely melted all over the granola).  Once the chocolate chips are melted, pour granola back onto the pan and let cool completely.  Granola may be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week (I keep mine in a Ziploc in the freezer).

*I'm sure using regular sized chips would work just fine.