Description
A salty, sweet Cocoa Coconut Granola fit for breakfast cereal or as a granola topper. For minimal clean-up, use a 1 cup, 2/3 cup, 1 tablespoon, and 1/2 teaspoon for all your measurements, doubling and tripling where needed.
Ingredients
Dry:
- 7 c. old fashioned oats
- 1 tbsp. coarse kosher salt*
- 4 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. cardamom
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Wet:
- 1 c. olive oil
- 1 c. pure maple syrup
- 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Nuts:
- 1 1/3 c. unsweetened flaked coconut
- 1 1/3 c. raw slivered almonds
- 2/3 c. raw pepita seeds
- 1/3 c. hemp seeds
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°, making sure two oven racks are installed—one in the traditional middle and one just below. Place two unlined baking sheets on the counter. Set aside.
Stir together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Minimalist tip: measure the salt before the cocoa powder to bypass cleaning the utensil. Additionally, use a 1/2 teaspoon measurement for all teaspoon measurements to cut down on dirty dishes.
Whisk together all the wet ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk until the mixture thickens and an emulsion forms (the oil and syrup become one).
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, leaving about a tablespoon or so of the wet mixture remaining in the bowl. Set bowl aside for later use. Stir mixtures together until evenly coated. Divide the mixtures between two baking sheets and spread in an even layer. Place baking sheets on separate racks. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and stir, then place back in the oven, swapping rack positions for even baking. Bake for 10-12 minutes more and remove. At this point, the oats should be beginning to dry out. You’ll want to make sure this is the case so as not to overcook the nuts in the next step.
Meanwhile, in the bowl with the remaining wet mixture, stir in the coconut and almonds. Toss to evenly coat. After the oats have baked for about 20-22 minutes, remove from oven and evenly divide the nuts on top of the baking sheets and stir together. Alternate racks again, and bake for an additional 6-8 minutes. Watch closely to keep nuts from burning. Toss and swap racks, if needed, to maintain an even bake. Once done, remove from oven, tossing occasionally while cooling. Granola will harden up as it cools. Once cooled, stir in the pepita and hemp seeds. Store in an airtight container for up to a month.
Notes
*If using anything other than coarse kosher salt, cut the salt measurement in half.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes