Chocolate granola
I am in that phase of life where I have a lot of recipes to blog but not finding time to blog :). I am not complaining about both. I am genuinely happy that I am taking efforts to keep my blog active. I am equally happy that I am not getting enough time to blog (considering food blogging is a passion i’m pursuing on the side). And as I write this, I distinctly remember a conversation with my friend Akhila’s husband Lalith. I had gone to Akhila’s house once for lunch & her husband was hanging around (he wasn’t supposed to be present :D). I am now gonna set some facts straight here for the point I am about to make :). Lalith is someone who has his hands & legs in multiple things all the time in his life. Apart from his usual work routine, he is majorly into cricket (is apparently some head or something in some association here in Dubai), travels a lot, goes out quite a bit including impromptu movies & eat outs (JFYI – Akhila & Lalith are parents to 2 kids). I am in the phase of life where I want to get fitter, spend as much time with Adya as possible (working mom guilt) & cooking the hell out when I am in the mood for it. So, when Lalith & I got talking, most of things he does actively or things that are of interest to him are things I am NOT doing even remotely. At one point, the conversation came to travel and I was telling him about how my 2017 was a year filled with travels. That’s when he exclaimed – oh, so your life isn’t as boring as you claim after all and I had a huge glee on my face :). I kinda sensed Lalith might have perceived me as someone super boring (probably a general thing now for most people who meet me) but I found it very cute when he said that out loud & that too in a manner to reassure me 😀 (Lalith, please don’t kill me when you read this post. I am still your bestu friend for pickles pls). And just to be clear, I love my current phase of life. The only downside is I am socialising much less than before but I look at the positives of that as well. The friends who remain at the end of this phase are the ones that are meant to be :). As far as the rest is concerned, all I can say is it’s their loss not mine :D.
Enough about my life and now about this post. I had promised my friend Yogesh that I will make a batch of granola when his family travels out & considering his love for chocolates, I wanted to try out a chocolate flavoured granola. I kept it simple & didn’t play around much. It turned out really really well. The only note to self is to reduce the amount of cocoa powder that I added in, in case the people who are going to consume this don’t prefer dark chocolates in general. Also, I followed this recipe and made my own variation. Granola in general is healthy since it has oats, nuts & seeds but this one doesn’t really fit in that category since there is quite a bit of sweetener involved in the process & oh, not to forget the chocolate chips as well :).
Finally, ideas on how to have this – have it plain as a snack, mix with milk/ yogurt and have it for breakfast, my niece was to sprinkle this on top of vanilla ice cream and have it. That final idea I must say is very tempting & probably the best :).
- 1.5 cups rolled oats I prefer to use jumbo
- 1/8 cup virgin coconut oil
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/8 cup brown sugar
- 1/8 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
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In a small bowl, mix together cocoa powder, brown sugar & salt. Make sure there are no lumps.
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To this, add maple syrup, virgin coconut oil & vanilla essence.
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Combine well. This cocoa mixture will have a wet mud consistency.
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Take a large bowl & add the jumbo oats.
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To that, add the cocoa mixture & combine well using a spatula or your hands (I prefer using my hands).
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Now, add the almonds (or any nuts if adding) & mix well. Make sure to coat the entire oats/ nuts mix with the cocoa mix.
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Spread the mix on a baking tray lined with parchment sheet.
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Bake in a preheated oven at 200c for 25-30 minutes. Ensure to take out the mixture & toss it every 10 minutes once.
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After 20 minutes of baking, just keep a closer eye on the mixture & ensure not to burn the mixture. since each baking unit is different.
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After 25-30 minutes of baking, take the chocolate granola out & let it cool down. As it cools down, the granola gets crispy.
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Once cooled, add the semi-sweet chocolate chips & mix.
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You can have this immediately or store it in an airtight container for upto a month. I refrigerate mine to ensure the chocolate chips do not melt even a bit.
- You can use regular refined sugar instead of brown sugar.
- You can use honey instead of maple syrup.
- You can add more nuts or chocolate chips, your choice.
- You can also mix 1 or 2 tbsp of chia seeds to this mixture.Â
Stepwise pictures
In a small bowl, add brown sugar, salt & cocoa powder. Mix well & break through lumps if any.
Next up, add the vanilla essence, maple syrup & virgin coconut oil.
Combine everything together. What you will have is a wet sand consistent mixture.
In a separate large bowl, add the jumbo oats and to this, add the chocolate mixture.
Mix everything well using a spatula or your hands (I prefer hands). Finally, once well combined, throw in the almonds (or any other nuts of your preference). You can skip the nuts as well.
Mix well. Make sure to coat the chocolate mixture evenly through the oats mixture. It will seem dry but this is the perfect consistency to bake.
Spread the mixture on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 200c for 25-30 minutes tossing the mixture every 10 minutes once.
After 25-30 mins, your granola is ready (It gets crunchier once it cools down). Let the granola cool down. Once cooled, add the chocolate chips & mix.
Store in an airtight container. It stays well for up to a month. I kept mine in the refrigerator so that the chips won’t melt even slightly.
