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Hi Friends, I hope you are doing well.
There is so much going on in the world lately. I know that food doesn’t solve anything besides hunger; but it can nourish us, bring us joy, give us a little comfort. Food can bring us together, even when we have to be apart, food can heal. I just want to say that while things in the world are happening, we always have a basic need to eat. That’s why food unites us, even if we still need to social distance. I know it’s not solving problems, but creating recipes and sharing them here with you brings me joy, it’s my way of shining my light in the world, and I hope that does make a difference in some lives. I hope that you, like me, can step into your kitchen and spend some time making flavors, textures, and ingredients come together in such a way that gives you peace, and brings you joy. I hope that it’s therapeutic, as cooking often is for me. And ultimately nourishes the body (like a healthy salad does), or sometimes just the soul (I’m looking at you brownies), there is a space and a need for all of those kinds of foods. That, my friends, is why I love doing what I do.
I want you to know that whatever it is that you do to bring a little joy, peace, and love into the world, never underestimate how powerful that is. Whatever it is that you do, as long as it comes from love, makes a difference to someone else’s world, and to your world. That, my friends, is worth a lot.
That is my way of spreading a little insight without getting too deep into opinions.
Let’s shift our focus to granola. Because who doesn’t love a good crunchy granola?!?! Especially a super delicious chocolate granola!
Peanut butter chocolate granola – which is actually more of a dessert kind of granola.
Dessert granola?
This chocolate granola is rich because of the peanut butter, there are lots of melted chocolate chips, there are honey roasted peanuts – so many sweet goodies, hence why it’s dessert granola.
Yes, you could technically eat this chocolate granola for breakfast with some milk or sprinkled over some yogurt. If sweet breakfasts are your jam then go for it. However, for me, I am all about the savory breakfasts and I do like granola as a side to my eggs, but generally speaking this particular chocolate granola is too heavy on the sugar to call itself breakfast granola (hello chocolate chips) which is why, I like to think of it as a dessert.
And trust me, this chocolate granola is one tasty dessert.
Even though the title of this granola, is peanut butter chocolate granola, I don’t want to deceive you, because you can’t actually taste the peanut butter part too much. The cocoa powder overpowers the peanut butter, but I decided to leave the peanut butter in the recipe since it adds a nice richness to the granola that makes if feel even more like dessert, rather then breakfast.
Ingredients for peanut butter chocolate granola:
- old fashioned rolled oats
- cocoa powder
- cinnamon
- salt
- peanut butter
- coconut oil
- pure maple syrup
- vanilla extract
- dark chocolate chips
- honey roasted peanuts (or use salted roasted peanuts)
- flaky sea salt (AKA Maldon sea salt)
That’s it, that’s all you need to make one batch of delicious tasting chocolate-y dessert granola.
Chocolate granola is super tasty. It’s very chocolate-y, a little rich, crunchy, perfectly sweetened. It has an extra crunch element with honey roasted peanuts. The chocolate chips that have been melted and stirred into the granola to create these beautiful little clusters that make eating it a real joy. The melted chocolate chips are sprinkled with a flaky sea salt for that salty sweet combo that’s just the best. We enjoy eating chocolate granola, straight, as is. What’s not to love about that?!
Granola is one of my favorite things to make. It’s so stinking easy. Homemade granola, like most things, is always way better then store bought, and it’s always impressive.
How to make chocolate granola:
- Mix together dry ingredients in a big bowl.
- Melt the peanut butter, coconut oil, and maple syrup together on the stove. Mix into the dry ingredients. Spread onto a baking sheet.
- Bake.
- Add chocolate chips, allow them to melt in the oven for a minute.
- Remove. Add peanuts. Stir gently just a few times, so that the melted chocolate can form clusters.
- Sprinkle the melted chocolate with flaky sea salt.
- Cool. Allow the chocolate chips to completely cool so that you get these beautiful clusters of chocolate granola.
- Enjoy.
Pro tip: whenever you go to eat chocolate granola, make sure to portion some out into a small bowl, otherwise you will find it hard to stop eating. Trust me, I know from personal experience. It’s pretty addictive.
Chocolate granola uses simple ingredients that you likely have on hand already. It’s easily made gluten free by using certified gluten free oats. It can be adapted to be vegan/dairy free by swapping in vegan/dairy free chocolate chips. A win win for anyone.
I hope you enjoy this chocolate granola as much as we did. It’s such a fun treat to make.
More Granola Recipes:
- chocolate coffee granola
- healthy matcha granola
- golden granola
- crunchy chocolate hazelnut granola
- peanut butter apple granola bars
Don’t forget to share this recipe with your friends, or on social media. If you made it leave a comment down below, along with a star rating so that my recipes can be found easier by others. Thanks, friends.
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Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola (Dessert Granola)
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 to 15 servings 1x
- Category: baking, dessert, chocolate egg free, 30 minutes
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: gluten free, vegan, dairy free, egg free
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Chocolate granola has melted chocolate chips that form delicious clusters of crunchy granola. Honey roasted peanuts add more crunch. This granola is great anytime you want a sweet treat.
Ingredients
- 3 3/4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Stir ins
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup honey roasted peanuts (or use salted roasted peanuts)
- flaky sea salt (I like Maldon sea salt)
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix the dry ingredients: to a large mixing bowl add the oats, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until everything is well combined.
- Melt the wet ingredients: To a small sauce pot add the peanut butter, coconut oil, and maple syrup. Heat on medium heat, stirring constantly, just until the coconut oil is melted and the peanut butter is in a more liquid state, remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla.
- Combine: To the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients add the peanut butter mixture, stirring until everything is wet and well coated.
- Bake: Transfer the granola to an extra large rimmed baking sheet (or 2 medium sized sheets), spread out into a mostly even layer. Bake on the center rack of your oven for 10 minutes. Remove and toss, bake another 5 minutes, and remove and toss again, bake another 5 minutes – this prevents burning. The granola should seem dry when done baking. Turn off the oven.
- Add the chocolate chips: Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the granola. Pop the granola back into the oven that is now off for 1 to 2 minutes, just until the chocolate chips have melted. Remove from the oven, sprinkle on the peanuts and then gently toss the granola just a few times. The idea is to create clumps of granola with the melted chocolate, you don’t want to mix it up completely, just enough to get those beautiful chocolate-y clumps YUM!
- Sprinkle with salt: Sprinkle the granola with a little bit of the flaky sea salt, especially trying to get it to stick to the melted chocolate.
- Cool: Allow the chocolate to cool on the baking sheet until the chocolate has completely hardened. Don’t touch the granola, otherwise you’ll mess up the beautiful chocolate clusters you created. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen the cooling time can vary, mine took about 2 hours – it’s well worth it though, my friends!
- Eat: Once the chocolate had hardened you can eat the granola. We love eating it straight, as is. You can add it to yogurt, or milk, but the granola is so good and rich, and sweet that I prefer it as more of dessert. It could be a delicious topping to ice cream though.
- Store: Gently transfer the completely cooled granola to an air tight container and store and room temp. Granola will last for up to several weeks, but you’ll probably eat it all way before then lol. Enjoy!
Notes
gluten free: To ensure that this recipe is gluten free make sure to use certified gluten free oats.
vegan/dairy free: To keep this recipe vegan and/or dairy free be sure to use vegan/dairy free chocolate chips.
Chocolate chips: you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips, or milk chocolate chips, if you prefer, just keep in mind the granola will be sweeter. I recommend the dark chocolate chips. 😉
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