Chocolate hazelnut granola
You might have noticed it, I love to switch things up when it comes to breakfast. Pancakes, oatmeal, cereals, or even cake (oopsie)… It just puts me in a good mood and gives me a boost of motivation in the morning! This granola recipe filled with roasted hazelnuts and tons of seeds is a new variation to add to my list. We don’t always have time to make a pile of fresh pancakes in the morning, so it’s nice to have a batch of homemade, nourishing, and yummy granola ready for one of those early and busy morning calls -or the lazy ones. It is easy to make in large quantities, plus you can keep it for quite a bit in one of those big old glass jars. Arnaud and I love granola, although we find that the store bought versions tend to contain too much sugar. I decided I’ll try to make my own version. I thought it was going to be hard to do, but after checking out a few different recipes I realized how easy it was! Plus there are a billion different possible combinations of ingredients so you can really create your own version that suits your taste just perfectly!
Here is the recipe I made, but I added some possible substitutions so you can play around with the ingredients to create different versions. I can’t wait to test out different recipes, I’m thinking for example an apple almond cinnamon version would be great!
- 1 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped in large pieces (or almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanuts,…)
- 1 cup of a seed mix. I used flax, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. You can add some chia, poppy seeds, or even throw some shredded coconut in the mix
- 4 cups old fashioned oats
- 3-4 pinches salt
- ½ cup raw unsweetened cacao powder (or almond flower, peanut butter powder, coconut flour,…)
- ½ cup coconut oil (or other vegetable oil such as olive or sunflower oil)
- ½ to ⅔ cup maple syrup (or honey, agave syrup,…)
- <optional> Your favorite spices: cinnamon, pumpkin pie spices, vanilla extract,…
- <optional> toppings to add after baking: shaved coconut, chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries, apple chips,…
In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients and <optional> some spices. Add in the oil and syrup, and mix well until cacao powder and liquid ingredients are spread out evenly. Spread granola on a baking sheet, and bake une the preheated oven (300°F/150°C) for approximately 20-30′, until crispy and golden (stirring after 15′). Allow to cool and harden, then store in an airtight jar. Add toppings of your choice either right before serving, or directly in the jar.
Enjoy your granola for breakfast or as an afternoon snack, on its own or with milk or yogurt.
