Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Granola is tart, sweet and crunchy making the perfect on-the-go snack for the adults and kids.  Dark Chocolate Chips, dark dried cherries, almonds, coconut and oats are a match made in granola heaven. 

I am back with another granola recipe. I now make homemade granola on a weekly basis since it is easy to do and I can control all of the ingredients that go into it.

We go through granola pretty quickly in my house whether it is snaking or breakfast.  I love playing with flavor combinations every time I make it to mix things up.  Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Granola is probably more of a snacking granola since it has the chocolate in it but it certainly can be eaten for breakfast. Who doesn’t like a little dark chocolate to start the day?

When I was trying to decide what to put in this batch of granola, dried dark pitted cherries caught my eye at Trader Joes.  I knew I had to add that into my granola.  Cherries have always been a favorite of mine.  As a child living in Michigan cherry season was a big deal. Like a huge deal!

If you go to Traverse City, Michigan in July you can actually attend a cherry festival.  Let me tell you it is huge and very popular.  You will find every kind of cherry product your little heart desires.  I especially like dark chocolate covered cherries and can easily finish off a small bag of those.  Since Traverse City is one of my favorite places to go, I highly suggest you load up the car and take a trip to see all of its beauty, food scene and hey, maybe the cherry festival?

And there you have the creation of today’s granola.  

This stuff is tart, sweet and crunchy. Perfect when you are on-the-go during the day. I make this and store it in mason jars for the week.  If we are out running errands and I know one of the kids or I might get hungry I take a little to go.

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Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Granola

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Granola is tart, sweet and crunchy making the perfect on-the-go snack for the adults and kids. Dark Chocolate Chips, dark dried cherries, almonds, coconut and oats are a match made in granola heaven.

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Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 cups oats, old fashioned
• 1/2 cup coconut {you can use unsweetened or sweetened}
• 1/2 cup almonds, whole
• 1/2 cup dried dark pitted cherries
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a medium mixing bowl combine brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, coconut oil, vanilla and honey and whisk together. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl put the oats, coconut, almonds, dried cherries and chia seeds and mix together. Pour the coconut oil mixture over the oats and mix until the oats are coated completely.
4. On a parchment lined baking sheet spread the granola mixture in an even, thin layer.
5. Bake the granola for 30 minutes, stirring the mixture every 10 minutes until done.
6. Remove the granola from the oven and let sit until cooled. Once cooled stir in the dark chocolate chips.
7. Serve over yogurt with fresh fruit. Store the remaining granola in airtight containers in your pantry or on your counter for up to two weeks. I use mason jars to store mine {ours never lasts that long with the granola lovers in my house!}.

Notes

I use whole almonds but you can use sliced almonds, maybe just drop it down to 1/3 cup instead.
If you like your granola more on the toasted side you can bake it for a few extra minutes, just be careful not to burn it.

Ready for more?

Coconut Cranberry Chia Seed Granola

How to Make Homemade Granola

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