Almond Joy Granola

I love making my own granola.  It's so versatile and it's great for breakfast, brunch or even snacking.  Usually before I make a batch, I scour my cupboards and pull out all the little bags of dried fruit and nuts then toss together what looks good. 

So, right before I made this I had the contents of two cupboards all over my counter.  At the last minute I decided to scratch everything and just throw together some almonds, shaved coconut and chocolate.  Totally uncomplicated and easy.  Totally delicious!

I LOVE anything coconut and I about died when I found these Roasted Coconut Chips at Trader Joe's.  Then I found them at Sprouts and saved them because I knew I'd eventually use them for my granola.  Let me tell you, they're fabulous in this granola. My other favorite part...the chunks of chocolate...duh!!  The trick here is to add the chocolate after the granola has baked and cooled about 10 minutes.  Then only slightly stir them in so they kinda melt.  When they harden, you have these delicious little bites of almond joy!


Almond Joy Granola
3 cups rolled oats
2 cups shaved coconut
1 cup chopped almonds
2 Tbsp. coconut butter
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 Tbsp. honey
1 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, toss together oats, coconut and almonds.  Set aside.

In a smaller bowl, add coconut butter, coconut oil, honey and brown sugar.  Gently heat until coconut oil is melted.  Whisk until smooth.  Pour over oat mixture and fold in until completely coated.

Spread mixture out evenly in a large cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, stir and spread out again.  Return pan to oven and cook another 10 minutes.  Remove and stir again.  If it's not golden enough to your liking bake UP TO 5 minutes more. 

Cool granola in cookie sheet set over a wire rack about 10 minutes.  While granola is still slightly warm, sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and stir just a little bit, so there's chunks of chocolate rather then melting the chocolate completely and having it cover all the granola.  Cool granola completely.  Break up any large chunks and place in an airtight container.