Adapted fromHow to Cook Everything
Sometimes summer calls for a little more indulgence than youd usually allow the rest of the year. The good ‘ol family vacation (and relaxed parents) must have something to do with this.
Remember those little combo packs of mini Kellogg cereals? There were always 2 or 3 sugary options like Frosted Flakes and Fruit Loops (for which siblings would battle to the death), and one lame, everyday box of Cheerios. For some reason, parents only ever allowed these boxes of sugarcoated cardboard on summer camping trips. And oh, was it glorious.
This granola is your grown-up equivalent of the frosted flake; only it still offers you a few nice, healthy nutrients.
Ingredients
4 cups large flake rolled oats
cup hazelnuts
cup other nuts (we used a combination of pecans and walnuts)
1 cup unsweetened coconut (we used flaked coconut)
1 tsp cacao powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
dash of sea salt
1/3 – 1/2 cupmaple syrup
cup unsweetened dried cherries roughly chopped
cup chopped dark chocolate
Method
1.Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2.In a large bowl, stir together rolled oats, nuts and coconut. Spread out evenly over 1-2 large cookie sheets and place on medium rack in the oven.
3.Bake for 5 minutes until lightly toasted. Remove from the oven, scrape back into your mixing bowl, and add cacao powder, cardamom, sea salt and maple syrup. Stir to combine well and again spread out evenly over the cookie sheet.
4.Bake again for another 15-20 minutes (checking on your granola periodically), until nicely browned.
5.Remove from the oven and let sit to cool. Once it has completely cooled, transfer back into the large mixing bowl, and stir in cherries and chocolate.
6.Serve with your choice of milk, yogurt or kefir, or on top of your oatmeal or French toast!
