Strawberry Dark Chocolate Granola

Hello dear friends!!! I have something super special to share with you this week that I've been working on for a while. As you know, at the beginning of every month, I take the time to dedicate and entire week to a different kind of food, and try my best to share 5 incredibly mouthwatering recipes to go along with that theme. In January, I shared some crazy delicious breakfast toasts, and in Feburary I went a little sheet pan dinner crazy 

This month, I thought it would be fun to share my breakfast love: homemade granola. 

My kids eat it up like crazy, so batch after batch is made in my kitchen. We've tried dozens of recipes, and the 5 I'm sharing with you this week are our absolute favorites! 

Homemade granola is SO easy to make. You can make it into whatever flavor you'd like, and transform the flavors from perfectly healthy way to start the day, to even a more delicious sweet treat to have while you're binge-watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. 

My kids eat it with yogurt, like cereal in a bowl full of milk, eat it by the handful, and even like to sprinkle it on ice cream or our favorite "nice cream"  (recipe to come!). 

So whether you're a granola expert, or just an excited newbie when it comes to this incredibly versatile breakfast delight, I hope you find a recipe you're anxious to try, and tune in every day this week for a brand new granola recipe! 

Most of the granola recipe I'm sharing are straight up healthy, and this one, I still consider to be that way! Dark chocolate bits, and dried strawberries, all wrapped up with some seriously dolled up old fashioned oats, sure to wet your whistle for a bowl of granola anytime of the day! It tasted just like what you'd imagine a chocolate covered strawberry in granola form. It's stunning, and absolutely delicious! 

What I loved about this recipe is how gosh darned easy it is to make. I sound like such a broken record with that line, I swear. But it's true. I can stir together a batch of this heavenly granola, toss it on a sheet pan, bake it without a care in the world, let it dry out and my goodness...

...you have a bowl of THIS to entertain you: 

Sooooo good, right?!

You don't have to take my word for it. 

Oh great, now I sound like Reading Rainbow. 

Eh, my offer still stands. ;) 

Strawberry Dark Chocolate Granola

makes 6 cups

ingredients:

4 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup sliced almonds

3 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup 100% pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1 cup freeze dried strawberries

method:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F, and prep a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. 

2. In a large bowl, mix together the rolled oats & sliced almonds. In another small bowl, whisk together coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, cocoa, and salt. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry, and stir together until all the oats have been coated. 

3. Spread granola on the prepped baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let sit for a couple minutes to melt, then stir. Top with freeze dried strawberries and let cool completely. 

Recipe source: Bakerita