Chocolate Granola

If you open up my cupboards you are always going to find some granola. I go through tons of yogurt every week (homemade, it's all I eat anymore) and I love to have crunchy and sweet baked oats around to top it off.  I admit that I love Nature Valley granola bars and very often that is what I have, I think they are absolutely delicious. If anyone out there has a copycat recipe I would be thrilled to try it. I would love to make something that even slightly resembles those granola bars. However, I also really enjoy making my own granola. There are about a gazillion recipes out there. I really love my current go to granola recipe, but this new recipe caught my eye for one reason - chocolate!

It's a pretty basic granola recipe: oats, honey, nuts, flavorings and some type of fat. This recipe also has the lovely addition of some cocoa powder. It was a cinch to make, although the cocoa powder makes it a little difficult to tell how done the granola is. I really enjoyed the finished product, however it wasn't quite as chocolaty as I would have liked it. I realize that it doesn't have any real chocolate in it, just cocoa, but I was hoping for a little more chocolate flavor. But despite that slight disappointment this was still a tasty granola, perfect for topping my yogurt for breakfast. 

Grab your ingredients

Chop up some nuts

Mix together the nuts, oats, and wheat germ

Put everything else in a saucepan on the stove

Mix together the wet and dry ingredients and 

bake it off

Ready to go!

The options are endless...

Chocolate Granola
From Sugarhero
Ingredients

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil 
• 1 cup honey 
• 1-1/2 tbsp vanilla extract 
• 1 tbps cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1/2 cup best-quality cocoa powder 
• 4-1/2 cups oats 
• 1 cup wheat germ 
• 1 cup chopped, toasted nuts of your choice 
• 1 cup dried cranberries or sour cherries (optional) 

Directions

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and cover two baking sheets with foil. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ and chopped, toasted nuts. Toss briefly to combine.

In a medium saucepan, combine the vegetable oil, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and cocoa powder. Heat this mixture, stirring, over medium heat, until you have a smooth, flowing liquid without any cocoa lumps.

Carefully pour the hot cocoa syrup over the oats in the bowl. Stir until the oats are completely coated with the chocolate. Divide the granola evenly between the two baking sheets, and spread it out into a thin, even layer on each sheet.

Bake the granola in the 300 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Gently stir every 10-15 minutes, and rotate the trays between racks and front to back to make sure the granola doesn’t burn in spots. Once it's out of the oven, let it cool undisturbed. Once it's cool add the dry fruit if using. Enjoy on top of your favorite yogurt!