I love sour cherries. I love chocolate. I love pecans. So naturally I put them altogether and made a delicious granola that is perfect for every occasion! Sprinkle it on top of your smoothie bowls in the summer, eat it straight out of the jar for a little afternoon pick me up, or better yet serve it as is with warm milk – the temperature of the milk will melt the chocolate and give you this delicious, fancy, adult version of cocoa pops!
Chloe xx
GFO, RSF, DF, V
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups rolled oats (buy uncontaminated oats for GF version, or substitute for buckwheat kernels)
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- ½ cup raw pecans
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- ¼ cup cacao or cocoa powder
- ¼ cup dried sour cherries
- ¼ tsp sea salt ground or flakes
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- 1tbsp vanilla bean paste
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut or rapadura sugar
- 50g dark chocolate, chopped
- Warm milk of choice, to serve
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170°.
- In a large bowl mix together the oats, coconut, pecans, chia seeds, cacao or cocoa, sour cherries, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup and sugar.
- Pour the wet mixture over the oat mixture and stir to combine; have a little taste test and make sure that it’s to your liking, adjusting the salt/sugar/tartness to suit your taste buds.
- Press granola into the bottom of the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, then give it a quick toss and bake for a further 10 minutes.
- While it’s still how sprinkle half of the chocolate over the top; leave it to cool completely without stirring as the granola will crisp up and harden as it cools, leaving you with nice big chunks.
- Stir in the remaining chocolate chunks and store in an airtight container.
- Serve the granola with warmed milk as it will melt the chocolate and you will be left with a comforting spin on granola in winter!
