Cocoa Almond Granola

Recipe by The View From the Great Island

Cocoa Almond Granola gives your everyday breakfast routine an upgrade — it’s full of all the good stuff like oats and almonds, with a little bit of cocoa to make it fabulous. Did your mom ever let you buy Cocoa Krispies or Coco Puffs when you were a kid?  Remember how your plain old white milk magically turned into chocolate milk by the time you were finished with the cereal? That was so cool. That’s the first thing I thought of when I saw Joy’s recipe for Cocoa Granola. It’s time for round 3 of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook Off  hosted by Heather at Girlichef.  She asked a group of bloggers to join her in getting out the word— Joy Wilson of the Joy the Baker blog has a cookbook debuting this month!  We got  advance copies of the book in exchange for sharing with our readers a few of Joy’s recipes. For week 1 I made the unbelievable Frosted Brownies.  Week 2 featured the elegant Lady Grey Tea Cakes, and now this week it’s free choice! Cocoa powder in granola—why didn’t I think of that?  I’ve been making homemade granola since college, and I thought …

Ingredients

• 4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup raw whole almonds
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup honey
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method

1. Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, toss together oats, almonds, coconut, cinnamon, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan combine sugar, honey, oil and butter. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to bubble. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
4. Pour the warm sugar mixture over the oat mixture and toss with a wooden spoon. Toss until all of the oats and almond bits are at least moistened by the sugar mixture. Spoon mixture onto prepared baking sheets and place in the oven.
5. Bake granola for 30 minutes, removing from the oven to toss and stir 2 to 3 times during baking. Granola is done when it is toasted around the edges and fragrant.
6. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Store in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 2 weeks.