Cocoa Almond Granola
I am a huge fan of granola. I eat it almost every morning with greek yogurt for breakfast (and sometimes even as a snack or dessert). My friends say I am a tad obsessed with this food combo, but there's something about whole grain oats, nuts, accompanied by flavors of spice that amplifies a cup of plain yogurt, tossed in a bowl of milk, or simply grabbed by the handfuls, that I can't resist.
Granola is easy to make, and extremely versatile. It's also a nice break from baking batches of cookies and brownies (as well as being a tad more nutritious). There are a lot of recipes for granola, but you can ultimately use any combination of oats, nuts, seeds, spices, chips, that suit your taste buds.
Joy the Baker provides another fun, and delicious recipe. I used the one for Cocoa Almond Granola from her recent cookbook, however the recipe on her website is very similar to the recipe listed in her book. The process of making granola is easy; this recipe requires a tad more work because it requires that you melt down the liquid and sugar ingredients down in a sauce pan, prior to tossing it over the dry goods. However, even this extra bit of work really isn't as time consuming in comparison to baking a batch of brownies. So set aside a little over a half an hour to combine ingredients, and toast this tasty concoction in the oven and simply: Enjoy!
Cocoa Almond Granola
Adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook
Similar recipe found here
Yields: 8 cups granola
Ingredients:
4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup raw whole almonds*
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsweeteend cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
Steps:
1. Place race in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
2. Line 1 large or 2 small baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, toss together oats, almonds, coconut, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, honey, oil, and butter. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to bubble.
5. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
6. Pour the warm sugar mixture over the oat mixture and toss with a wooden spoon. Toss until all of the oat and almond bits are at least moistened by the sugar mixture.
7. Spoon mixture into prepared baking sheet (s) and place in the oven.
8. Bake granola for 30 minutes, removing from the oven to stir 2-3 times during baking.
9. Granola is done with it is toasted around the edges and fragrant.
10. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
11. Store in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
What I Did Differently:
1. I didn't have whole almonds, so I used almond slivers. Personally, I enjoy almonds in my granola the most, but you can realistically use any type of nut.
2. I used vegetable oil, but I have seen other recipes use olive oil, coconut oil- try and experiment!
3. I think I baked mine for an extra 5-10 minutes, because I wanted mine really crunchy.
4. If you sneak some while the mixture is still warm, I won't blame you!
