Almond Joy Granola

FRIDAY IS HERE! 

Thank heavens. Friday is such a busy day around here, but definitely one of our favorites. 

It's also the last and final day of my granola week here on Baking with Blondie. 

Before I dive into this final recipe, lets do a quick recap of our favorite granola recipes that I've shared this week with you: 

Monday: Dark Chocolate Strawberry Granola 

Tuesday: Peanut Butter Chia Seed Granola 

Wednesday: Banana Bread Granola 

Thursday: Orange Cinnamon Granola 

aaaaand today: Almond Joy Granola! 

Coconut, chocolate, all wrapped up into a delicious bowl of granola - sure to become a regular in your breakfast granola rotation! Plus, it's chocolate granola. I mean, come on. 

I've never really stirred in cocoa into my granola until I started trying granola recipes like crazy earlier this year. But MAN, it's sure delicious, and I think we'll try to make new granola recipes using this base recipe. Caramel bits? Peanut butter chips? The sky's the limit with this as a base. 

The recipe is simple enough - just like the others. You stir together the dry ingredients, then mix together the wet ones. This time we melt the wet ingredients together over heat to make sure that coconut oil melts and the cocoa melts into it beautifully. Then pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones and stir together. Toss onto a baking sheet, and the bake until the granola is slightly crispy, but not overbaked. The cooling process is where you get the signature crispy texture. 

Toss on the chocolate and coconut (I used thicker shaved coconut for this batch), and you have yourself some freaking amazing granola. That tastes like candy. 

Yep. 

This Friday is already off to an awesome start! 

I hope you enjoyed my granola week here on Baking with Blondie, and will tune in next week for some more delicious recipes that are sure to become your new favorites! 

Almond Joy Granola 

makes 5 cups 

ingredients:

3 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup sliced almonds 

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup coconut oil 

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

method:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2. In a large bowl, stir together oats, almonds, and brown sugar. 

3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together honey, coconut oil, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt. When coconut oil melts and the mixture is smooth, remove from heat and pour over the dry ingredients. Stir to coat all the oats. 

4. Pour & spread out over prepared baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, and turn halfway through. Cook until slightly crisp (add time if needed), then let cool completely. Toss on the coconut and chocolate chips. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from: The Lemon Bowl.