Chocolate Covered Cherry Granola

Chocolate Covered Cherry Granola

I love breakfast and I love oatmeal, but granola has never been my thing. For one, it always seemed a little greasy and secondly, I do not like dried peaches and apricots. So when my sister posted this recipe for chocolate granola with bitty dark chocolate chips and dried cherries, I did a jig. Well, did a jig and then promptly made it. This is low sugar and chock full of stuff like antioxidants, energy boosters and vitamins. And it is so chocolatey, you might skip the cookie for this crazy good stuff. There are a few modifications, but the heart of this recipe is all my lovely sister Hannah's.

* Note that this recipe can easily be made gluten-free – another plus!

Chocolate Covered Cherry Granola

1 Cup of Coconut Oil

1 C honey

1/2 c. raw sugar

1/2 c. water

2 tsp salt

3 tsp Vanilla

1 c. cocoa

Warm on low-med heat in a sauce pan, stirring until mixed.

Mix and pour over below dry ingredients

12 Cups Rolled Oats (Use Gluten Free Oats if Needed)

2 Cups of Wheat Germ or Ground Flax Seeds (Wheat Germ is high in fiber and B vitamins, but we use freshly ground Flax seeds, which are high in vitamins as well as fiber and Omega 3s!)

3 Cups of Nuts of your choice (My favorite is 2 c. almonds and 1 c. raw pumpkin seeds)

1 c. unsweetened coconut (opt)

Stir wet and dry ingredients together.

Spoon onto pans, mixture should be about 1" thick. 

Bake in oven, stirring every 5-10 min. Bake until slightly golden~about 30 min. * Note – this will be several pans baking at once. Rotate the pans that are on the bottom rack onto the top rack every time you stir.

Remove from oven, allow to cool fully in pans.

Pour into large bowl and add 2-3 cups of chopped dried cherries and mini semisweet chocolate chips. (you can switch this for any combination – peanut butter chips and white grapes, etc.)

Stir ingredients and store in a glass container. Plastic will make it taste iffy and add chemicals. Big glass containers are $6-$8 at Wal-mart and probably available elsewhere cheaply too.

Makes approx 18 Cups of Granola

Enjoy!