Sweet and Salty Chocolate Granola

This is called granola because it contains ingredients commonly found in granola - oats, nuts, etc.  But there is chocolate.  Lots of chocolate.  So it's not really granola, in that virtuous this-is-good-for-you kind of way. If you are young and reckless you can have it for breakfast.  For the rest of us I would recommend it for an afternoon or after dinner snack, or as a topping for yogurt or ice cream. 

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Granola
adapted from Pinch of Yum

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats (NOT instant or quick cooking)
1 1/4 cups sliced almonds
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup turbinado sugar, DIVIDED (also sold as Sugar in the Raw)
2/3 cup melted coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
1/3 real maple syrup (or agave syrup)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 semisweet chocolate chips
flaky sea salt for sprinkling


Preheat oven to 250 degrees. 

In a large bowl toss the oats, almonds, coconut flakes, cocoa powder, salt and 1/3 cup of the turbinado sugar together until evenly mixed.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together the melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla.  Pour this mixture over the oat mixture and toss until everything is evenly coated.

Transfer the oat mixture to a baking sheet, spread evenly and place in preheated oven.  After 30 minutes toss the mixture and check to make sure it isn't burning. Continue to bake for another 10 to 20 minutes, checking frequently. When the granola is starting to become crispy and fragrant, remove from the oven and toss the chocolate chips evenly over the top. Don't stir.  Finally,  sprinkle the remaining turbinado sugar and a good dose of flaky sea salt over the entire mixture. Return to the oven for about five minutes.  The chocolate chips should keep their shape but the sugar and salt should stick to them. This is where the magic happens so don't fight it.

Remove from oven and cool completely before transferring to an airtight container.  

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Picture by sarahlynnhill.com

Are you aware that National Chocolate Chip Cookie Week is March 14-20? Thank goodness the food holiday designators chose an entire week to celebrate because just one day is absolutely not enough. Right now my freezer is stocked full of chocolate chip cookie dough. I have a double batch of the classic Strobel Cookie with half dark chocolate chips and half Dove milk chocolate, preferred by Strobel men for chocolate chip cookie dough pudding, or just eating naked, as in straight-from-the-freezer-no-baking-or-microwaving involved. If you dig a little deeper you will find a ziploc bag full of little dough balls waiting to be baked into Tate's thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies. Alongside those you will find my personal batch - classic Strobel cookie dough with Guittard semi-sweet chocolate super disks and toasted walnuts (no milk chocolate allowed). We like to cater to all tastes and palates at this house! 

If you are thinking there is no need for another variety, I would like to gently suggest that you are so so wrong. Let me introduce you to The King Arthur Flour Company's 2015 recipe of the year - the Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie. These are soft and chewy inside and deliciously crispy on the outside, as good cold as they are warm. I don't share chocolate chip cookie recipes recklessly. Trust me with this one.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

From King Arthur Flour

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup ( 7 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt or 3/4 teaspoon regular table salt
3 cups (18 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

With an electric or stand mixer, beat together the softened butter and both sugars until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and egg yolk one at a time, beating well after each. Add vanilla and mix until well combined.

In a separate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, oatmeal, baking powder and soda, and salt. Add this to the butter mixture and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Prepare the dough for baking (or freezing) by scooping into balls. Any size will work! We prefer a larger cookie, about 1/4 cup dough each, but even tiny little scoops of about 2 teaspoons each will make a respectable cookie. Make sure to leave plenty of room between balls for spreading. Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size, until they are very light golden brown with the edges slightly darker than the middle. Let the cookies rest for a minute or two on the cookie sheet then transfer to racks to cool

Yield: 20 to 100 cookies, depending on size.

Notes on the Recipe:

I prefer quick cooking oatmeal for these cookies because I think it makes for a better texture, but suit yourself, just don't use instant oatmeal.

Chocolate Crostini with Olive Oil and Salt

Chocolate Crostini with Olive Oil and Salt

from Rogue Baking tips from Alice Medrich on Food52

This isn't really a recipe.  It's a suggestion. A very good suggestion.    I don't know about you but when it comes to food I am easily suggestible.

Slice some leftover crusty bread from dinner last night, brush with your favorite olive oil and bake in a 350 degree oven until it's just crunchy.  While the bread is crisping,  melt a couple of ounces of your favorite dark chocolate in the microwave.  Drizzle the melted chocolate over the bread, sprinkle with some good flaky salt and enjoy! Next time I am going to sprinkle it with crumbled up bacon.  Just another suggestion.