Chocolate Walnut Coconut Granola

I've mentioned this before, but I love making granola, though I wish I thought to make it more often! Weekly would be ideal. It's way cheaper than buying cereal and you have total control over what goes in it! There's not much I can say about this granola other then it's probably one of the best I've made, and my friend Erin seemed to love it as well! 

The technique is a bit more involved then granola I have made in the past, but well worth the extra effort. See, you actually toast nearly all the ingredients on the stove first. Then, only bake for 15 minutes! I much prefer this method as opposed to baking all the ingredients, especially when there is coconut in the granola. By toasting the coconut separately, then adding it at the end, you can ensure there is no burnt coconut. Trust me, if the coconut burns, the whole batch is trash. I still have a batch from this fall where I slightly overbaked the coconut. Have I touched it? Nope. It's going in the garbage real soon.

As with all granola recipes, make it work with what you have! I know I can't afford dried cherries like the original recipe (would love to try it though!), and I only had walnuts on hand. It was still awesome, especially with a sliced banana on top. Get creative, and enjoy your homemade cereal!

Chocolate Walnut Coconut Granola

Ingredients

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup ground flaxseed

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (I love the Trader Joe's 72%!)

Directions 

Preheat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

In a large bowl, combine honey, brown sugar, flaxseed, cinnamon, and salt. Mixture will be thick, but will thin a lot once the hot oat mixture is added later on.

Place a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the coconut to the pan in an even layer and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned and toasted.  Transfer to a small bowl and wipe out the pan.  Return the pan to the heat and add the chopped walnuts. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 3-4 minutes.  Stir in the oats and olive oil and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the oats are lightly toasted, about 3 minutes.

Add the toasted oat mixture to honey mixture, and stir until evenly coated. Spread out onto the prepared baking sheet in an even layer.  Bake, stirring every few minutes, until the granola is light golden brown, about 15 minutes. 

Remove from oven and stir in the toasted coconut.  Move the granola to one side of the baking sheet and press gently into a thick slab.  Let cool to room temperature.  Break the dried and cooled granola into small clusters, mix in the chopped chocolate, and store in an airtight container.

Inspired by: Annie's Eats who got the original recipe from The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Elvis Granola

Even though I was born in California, I like to think I'm a southern girl at heart. I spent more then half of my life in Mississippi, and my mom and sister still live there. As I'm sure you may know, Mississippi was the birthplace of Elvis Presley, and the state takes great pride in that (did you know Oprah is from there too? Go MS!). In fact, the house he was born in is an hour east of my mom's house, and Graceland is about an hour north. I've of course visited both, and would highly recommend going if you're a fan and haven't been. 

When I stumbled across this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Eat Live Run, I jumped on it. I was confused at first, as I was always under the impression that Elvis loved to eat peanut butter and bananas together, but if the recipe calls for chocolate, you add the chocolate. Plus, the name...rocks. 

The result? The king of rock 'n' roll, is now the king of my breakfast. This granola is outstanding. It's so good, I couldn't wait two minutes to start writing about it. On top of yogurt, it's like dessert for breakfast it's so decadent. In homage to the king's love of bananas, I added a sliced banana on top. If you ask me, the banana should be mandatory, as I feel it completes the meal. Plus, fresh fruit! So put on a little Elvis, and whip up this granola, stat! Thank you...thank you very much.

Elvis Granola 

Ingredients

1/4 cup canola oil

1/3 of a cup honey

1/4 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky..doesn't matter)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 cups old fashioned oats

3/4 cup dry roasted peanuts

2/3-3/4 cup chopped dark chocolate or mini chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 275F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

Bring the oil, honey, peanut butter, salt, and cinnamon to a simmer on the stove. Cook for 3-5 minutes.

While that's cooking, combine oats and peanuts in a large bowl. Pour hot syrup mixture over the oats and toss well to coat. Spread granola onto baking sheets, and bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally and turning trays midway through. 

Cool completely before adding the chopped chocolate. Eat the granola by itself, or serve with yogurt or milk, and top with sliced bananas.

Recipe Source: adapted from Eat Live Run

Applesauce Granola

When I hit up the expat stores I always have to laugh when I see that little bag of granola for roughly $6. Are you kidding me? What a rip off. How can people spend that much money when it costs pennies to make it yourself? Well, the answer is obvious: they just don’t know any better. I never made my own granola until I moved to Beijing. It just never occurred to me that I could make it myself. Even when I move back to America, I will never buy granola again. It’s insanely easy to make, fun to experiment with, and it’s comforting to know exactly what’s in the food you’re eating.

I enjoyed this granola with some vanilla yogurt this morning. It’s not super sweet, and I like that the fruit is what makes it sweet. I chose to make a granola with applesauce simply because I had some in the fridge that needed to get used. Plus, by using applesauce, it reduced the amount of oil you find in most granola recipes. I’m not going to say this is my favorite granola, because there are so many combinations I haven’t tried yet, and I don’t want to make any promises I can’t keep. However, for a basic granola recipe this one’s definitely a keeper!

Applesauce Granola

Ingredients

4 cups old fashioned oats

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

½ cup applesauce

¼ cup plus 2 tbs honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon vanilla

¾ cup dried fruit (I used dry cranberries)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease a sheet pan, or spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine oats, cinnamon, and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the applesauce, honey, olive oil, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and pour onto prepared sheet pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 5 minutes.

Remove from oven, fold in fruit, and press into the pan. Let cool, then break into chunks.

Recipe Source: inspired by: Yummly