BAKE: How to Make Chocolate Cherry Almond Granola
- Serving Ideas for Homemade Chocolate Cherry Granola
- Homemade Granola Ingredients
- Kitchen Equipment Needed
- How to Make Chocolate Cherry Almond Granola
- Storing your Homemade Granola
This sweet and crunchy homemade chocolate cherry almond granola is great as a choco-licious breakfast cereal with milk (or your favorite milk alternative), though it’s decadent enough to have for dessert. Or, just eat it by the handful for a sweet chocolate snack!
It’s so easy to make, and a lot cheaper than buying overpriced gourmet granola or cereal, especially if you buy the basic ingredients in bulk.
Serving Ideas for Homemade Chocolate Cherry Granola
Try it layered in yogurt parfaits or sprinkled on your smoothie bowls or as a garnish on cold fruit soups for a sweet brunch treat or healthy dessert. Makes a tasty crunchy ice cream topping for sundaes!
Add it to oatmeal or peanut butter cookie dough to make chocolate monster trail mix cookies. Sprinkle it on a batch of muffins to make a crunchy topping. Or you can just eat it by the handful as a simple snack or trail food for your next hike or camping trip!
Homemade Granola Ingredients
Rolled Oats:
For best results, use old-fashioned rolled oats, which have large flakes and make the best textured crunchy granola. In a pinch, you can substitute quick rolled oats, though the granola will have a smaller crumb and different texture.
Nuts and Seeds:
I like to use whole almonds for their crunch, but slivered almonds are also very nice. Or, substitute chopped pecans, hazelnuts, or walnuts.
Dried Fruit:
This recipe uses dried cherries, although you can adjust or change the dried fruit to vary the recipe. Add the dried fruit to your baked granola. If you add it before baking, the sugars in the dried fruit can burn or dry out too much.
Sweetener:
We use a blend of brown sugar and real maple syrup for both flavor and as a binder to keep the granola together. You could also substitute agave or honey for the maple syrup to change the flavor profile.
Fats/Oils/Egg:
These, coupled with the sugar, are what makes your granola crunchy and flavorful. I like to use either melted butter or coconut oil for the best flavor. You could also substitute a neutrally flavored light oil like canola or grapeseed. Don’t use olive oil or other strongly flavored oils or your granola will taste weird!
We also use the whites from two eggs, which add protein, but more importantly, helps form those delicious crunchy clusters of oats and nuts that make this snack so fun to snack on!
Chocolate:
Cocoa powder & chocolate chips
Spices:
This is another way you can personalize your granola to your personal tastes, but it’s hard to go wrong with a bit of vanilla, almond extract, and sea salt.
Kitchen Equipment Needed
Mixing Bowl:
Any medium to large size mixing bowl will do, as long as it’s large enough to hold all of your ingredients while you stir them together.
Saucepan:
You’ll need a small to medium sized sauce pan if you are melting your butter or coconut oil, maple syrup, and cocoa on the stove top. You can also use a two to four cup Pyrex glass measuring cup and carefully melt your butter or coconut oil and syrup in the microwave.
Sheet Pan & Liners:
I like to use half-sheet pans with a lip. You can use non-stick silicone liners or line your pans with parchment paper for easier clean-up, but you can also bake your granola directly on the sheet pan.
How to Make Chocolate Cherry Almond Granola
step one:
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In a small to medium saucepan, gently melt the butter or coconut oil along with the maple syrup and brown sugar.
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Stir as the butter melts, and add the salt and cocoa powder.
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Let cool slightly, then stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.
step two:
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In a large bowl, whisk the egg white lightly until frothy, and fold in the rolled oats and nuts.
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Mix well, then pour the melted butter cocoa mixture over the top.
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Keep folding and mixing this until it is uniformly distributed and all the oats and nuts are completely coated.
step three:
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Divide the mix between two pans and spread it out in a uniform layer so that it will bake evenly, and place in the preheated oven.
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Set a timer for 15 minutes to rotate the pans on the oven racks so that they bake evenly (you can also stir the granola in the pans if the outside is browning faster).
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Bake at 300℉ for 35-45 minutes total. The granola should be lightly toasted and relatively dry and not sticky (though it will set up more as it cools). If it hasn’t set up yet or is still glossy, bake it a little longer, but watch to make sure it doesn’t burn!
step four:
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Sprinkle the dried cherries evenly over the pans of toasted granola.
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Once the mixture has cooled completely, add the chocolate chips, mix, and transfer it to airtight containers for storage.
Storing your Homemade Granola
Your homemade chocolate cherry almond granola should keep well for at least a month in a tightly sealed jar, or you can vacuum seal and freeze it for longer storage. Pack it in regular or reusable zip-seal bags or small containers to take it with you on the go to fuel your next hike or gym session!
I like to use recycled screw-top gelato containers or wide-mouth mason jars for homemade granola. You can even layer and make your own yogurt parfaits in these to take to work with you, or stash them in your cooler for car camping breakfasts or road trip snacks.
Chocolate Cherry Nut Granola
Ingredients
- 5 cups old-fashioned oats can substitute quick cook but not instant or steel-cut oats
- 1 cup raw almonds whole, sliced, or slivered
Melt together:
- ½ cup melted butter or coconut oil (can sub MCT oil for up to half, or another light neutral oil like canola or sunflower seed)
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 large egg whites
- ¾ tsp sea salt or himalayan pink salt
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp almond extract
Add after baking:
- ¾ cup dried cherries
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300℉ and line two half-sheet pans with parchment or silicone baking liners (you can also butter the pans lightly if you don't have those). Put the baking racks as close to the center of the oven as you can.
- In a small to medium saucepan, gently melt the butter or coconut oil along with the maple syrup and brown sugar. Stir as the butter melts, and add the salt and cocoa powder. Let cool slightly, then stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg white lightly until frothy, and fold in the rolled oats and nuts. Mix well, then pour the melted butter or oil and honey mixture over the top. Keep folding and mixing this until it is uniformly distributed and all the oats and nuts are coated.
- Divide the mix between two pans and spread it out in a uniform layer so that it will bake evenly, and place in the preheated oven. Set a timer for 15 minutes to rotate the pans on the oven racks so that they bake evenly (you can also stir the granola in the pans if the outside is browning faster).
- Bake at 300℉ for 35-45 minutes total. The granola should be lightly toasted and relatively dry and not sticky (though it will set up more as it cools). If it hasn't set up yet, bake it a little longer, but watch to make sure it doesn't burn!
- Sprinkle the dried cherries evenly over the pans of toasted granola. Once the mixture has cooled completely, add the chocolate chips, mix, and transfer it to airtight containers for storage.