This one goes out to you, Aunt Steffie!

According to my uncle, my Aunt Steffie really enjoys making her own granola (she’s a girl after my own heart!). So, when my mom, sister, and I stayed with her this weekend, I decided to make her her own original recipe of healthy granola as a thank-you gift!

As you’ve probably figured out from my countless posts claiming recipes are my “new favorite”, I get tired of things really quickly. And also fall in love with recipes just as fast! Granola is no different! I’m a strong believer in “mixing things up” in order to avoid getting bored with them (for example: in actuality, I’ll usually have something different for breakfast everyday), so when coming up with a new granola recipe, I wanted to create something just as easy as my previous granola recipes, but with a completely different flavor profile.

Enter: dark chocolate granola.

The idea for this flavor came straight from my Easter Basket this year. Meaning, I was given a ton of dark chocolate by the Easter Bunny and had to figure out some way to use it up… other than eating it all in one sitting (as I am so inclined to do). And the result was a hit!

The granola itself isn’t super sweet, so it balances out the sweetness of the dark chocolate perfectly. However, it does have the perfect amount of crunch, provided by the toasted oats, chia seeds, flax seeds, and shredded coconut! Additionally, it includes only whole, healthy ingredients (that you can actually pronounce!) and makes enough to last you a couple weeks!

So, I hope you enjoy the granola, Aunt Steffie!

Because I sure love it! 🙂

Dark Chocolate Granola

• 2 c old fashioned or rolled oats
• 1/4 c whole wheat flour (or gluten free flour)
• 2 tbs strong coffee (optional)
• 2 tbs chia seeds
• 2 tbs flax seeds
• 2 tbs reduced fat unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbs nut butter of choice
• 2 tbs honey (or agave)
• 2 tbs melted coconut oil
• 1.5 oz dark chocolate, chopped (or cacoa nibs)

Preheat oven to 250°F. Add dry ingredients to a bowl and stir together. Add all remaining ingredients (except chocolate) to another bowl and stir until combined. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until the granola has been fully coated (you may want to mix it together with your hands if it’s too tough to stir with a spoon). Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Store in a Tupperware. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information (from myfitnesspal.com)

Calories: 142

Fat: 7g

Carbs: 18g

Protein: 4g

(Yields about 3c granola, or about 12 1/4 c servings)

Nutrition information calculated using peanut butter.