Chocolate-Almond Granola!

You will Need:

Oats!

Cacao/Cocoa Powder!

Coconut Oil!

Almonds!

Monkfruit extract or Your preferred sweetener (Optional)

Vanilla+Almond extract (Optional)

Chocolate chips (Optional)

If You want crunchy oats, lay a thin layer.

Oats that are buried under other oats will be chewier.

I Love baking with stone wear. It holds the heat so well, so You can turn the heat off (to prevent burning) but continue cooking, if You Need to.

NO SUGAR ADDED!!! We use MonkFruit extract to avoid copious amounts of added sugar! Yay! If You want more sweetness I'd recommend honey for this. Personally, I prefer subtle sweetness.

(That's practically the point here of this recipe. Store bought granola typically has about 50g of added sugar in it. Go ahead and try to find one that doesn't have added sugar). Adding sugar will help the oats be crunchy/crispy, but I'd rather have healthy chewy granola than super sugar crispy oats.

There's all sorts of additional ingredients You can add to this if You like, but keep in Mind the less oily the Oats are when baked, the less crunchy crispy they'll turn out. I Love adding in a couple mashed black bananas, along with coconut shreds and some flax seed meal. But that totally transforms the granola from loose crispy to chewy bars!

In Your baking dish, pour some cocoa powder on the oats and almonds and stir it all together.

In a pot over low heat, liquefy the coconut oil and mix in a splash of vanilla extract, a few splashes of almond extract, the monkfruit extract, and some cocoa powder.

We don't want to add so much cocoa powder that the oil mix solidifies into chocolate (yum though). But the more You add, the more chocolatey it'll be.

Pour the oil mixture over the Oats/Almonds! (Don't forget to use Your Rubber Scraper to get all the oily goodness out of the pot!)

Use Your Rubber Scraper to mix the oil with all the oats.

All the oats Need to be wet with oil.

Give mixing in a good try first, but if it seems You need more Oil, go ahead and melt some more and add it in.

The problem is the cocoa is a powder, so it's very absorbent, so the more cocoa You use the more oil You'll need. Thus, the more decadent the granola will be.

When all the oats are wetted, spread them out evenly and push them down so they're all nice and level.

The oats on the top are going to cook first, so those are the oats You'll be watching.

The oats soaked in oil will crisp, and will be more crunchy the longer You bake them for. So baking at a lower temperate for longer will be crunchier.

I baked these at 325 for about 25 minutes.

They came out mostly chewy, with a slight crunch. (I like chewy granola, so this was perfect for Me!)

If You want crispier, lower the temperature and cook longer.

Either way, keep an eye on the top layer. If it starts to burn, turn the oven off right away. Check the oats for the desired texture periodically by chewing just one oat. Keep in mind the oats will get crunchier when they cool down, too.

When the oats are at the desired texture/begin to burn, take them out of the oven!

If You don't care about added sugar, You can mix in chocolate-chips for DOUBLE Chocolate-Almond granola!

Mix the chips in when the granola is still hot and they'll melt. Smoosh them with a spoon and gently mix them into the granola to make delicious clumps of chocolatey granola goodness. Or just mix the chips in when the granola cools, for chocolate chips.

(The chocolate chip side is for MOM).

And there ya go! Have hot or cold, with milk ala cereal, or put it in a baggie/container and bring with You on the go!

If sealed, the granola should keep for several months before even beginning to go stale. Good thing to have prepared!