granola - chocolate

By tinathorn

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup honey (or pure maple syrup)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seed butter (or other nut or seed butter of your choice)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar (granulated white or brown sugar will work, too)
• 1 Tablespoon black coffee (See Notes below recipe.)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sunflower seeds, unsalted and toasted (See Notes below recipe.)
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free oats (See Notes below recipe.)
• 1 cup unsweetened grated or shredded coconut
• 1/2 (or more!) Chocolate chips or chunks, optional

Details

Adapted from glutenfreegigi.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 300F. Line a large baking pan (with at least 1 inch sides) with foil; grease lightly and set aside.
Combine coconut, sunflower seeds and oats in a large bowl; set aside. (Reserve chocolate chips or chunks, if using, and add after granola is made and completely cooled so they do not melt.)
In a large skillet, combine first 8 ingredients listed; heat oven medium until mixture comes to a gentle boil and begins to thicken (see picture below recipe); stir occasionally. This takes about 8 minutes, but keep an eye on the mixture and when it “parts” when you pull a spoon across the bottom of the skillet, it is ready (it should look like it does in the picture below).
Pour the hot chocolate mixture over the dry ingredients in bowl; stir to coat dry ingredients.
Spoon granola onto prepared pan, place in oven and bake 10 minutes.
Removed pan from oven and carefully stir granola.
Return to oven for 10 minutes more.
Remove from oven, stir again, then leave on pan to cool completely.
Pour granola into a bowl, add chocolate pieces; gently toss to distribute chocolate throughout granola.
Store in glass jars with tight fitting lids.
Makes about 4 cups.