Dark Chocolate Granola

I’m always looking for an excuse to eat chocolate for breakfast and this granola is chocolaty and addicting…needless to say, I haven’t only been eating this for breakfast. It’s also great for a mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, dessert, or bedtime snack…I think you get the idea. I’ve made and enjoyed 3 batches over the last 2 weeks! If you aren’t a big fan of chocolate, this probably isn’t the granola for you.

This granola is so fragrant while baking. It made my entire house smell like a giant chocolate bar. Um…Yum! The smell makes it that much harder to wait for it to cool before tasting. While it gets more crisp when it’s cool, it is still delicious when warm…not that I know that from personal experience.

I’ve only used dark cocoa powder, but I think it would be equally delicious with traditional cocoa powder. You can eat it by the handful or I’ve also been enjoying it over yogurt with fruit.

Dark Chocolate Granola

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup shredded coconut
1/3-1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 250 (the lowest my oven is marked is 260, so I used that.) Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat liner.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, coconut, cocoa powder and brown sugar.
3. In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine honey, butter, vanilla and salt.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until combined. Spread mixture evenly on the baking sheet.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, stir and return to the oven to bake for another 30-45 minutes. The granola will be fragrant and slightly crisp.
6. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips and stir to slightly mix them in. Let the granola set while the chocolate chips melt and then cool, this will be about 1-2 hours (you can put the baking sheet in the refrigerator to speed this up).
7. Break any large pieces up and store the granola in an airtight container.

Adapted from this recipe.