breakfast

NUTTY CARDAMOM COCOA GRANOLA /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

cozy granola season has arrived! as soon as september/october roll around i’m usually making a few batches, while also making some equally cozy nut milks. it always feels like the right move to gently ease into fall.

today we’re making this cardamom-spiced cocoa granola. it’s crunchy and nutty, and chocolate-y, with a subtle spice that makes your kitchen smell like autumn. we start by making the chocolate mixture - combining coconut oil, maple syrup, and cacao powder over a low heat to get everything nice and smooth. then we toss a variety of nuts and seeds (please feel free to sub in what you have/like), and cacao nibs together. everything gets mixed together and covered in the chocolate sauce. from there it gets a little bake time in the oven. when it’s done cooking, we pan-toast the coconut, and combine everything. (coconut side note - i don’t know about you, but i love coconut flakes/shreds in granola. but when i combine it with the granola, it usually gets too burnt in the oven for my liking. this is why i’m adding the extra step to toast it in a pan.)

it’s a perfect breakfast, smoothie topper, yogurt garnish, or snack eaten right out of the jar. i hope you love this little recipe :)

nutty cardamom cocoa granola | gf & v

print the recipe!

| makes about 3 cups |

notes: you could of course use whatever nuts and seeds you have on-hand. if you don’t have cacao nibs, replace then 1:1 with something else - more nuts or seeds, or even chocolate chips if you wanna get crazy ;)

ingredients

  • 1/4 cup coconut oil

  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup

  • 1/3 cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

  • 2 cups mixed raw chopped nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, etc.)

  • 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds

  • 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

  • 1/4 cup cacao nibs

  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/4 cup coconut flakes

method

  1. preheat oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. in a small saucepan over low heat, melt the coconut oil. remove from heat, and whisk in the maple syrup and cacao powder until smooth. then whisk in the vanilla and salt.

  3. in a large bowl, mix together the chopped nuts, seeds, cacao nibs, and spices. pour in the chocolate mixture, and use a rubber spatula to combine until everything is evenly coated.

  4. spread the granola evenly into your prepared baking sheet. bake in the center of your oven for 30-35 minutes, stirring halfway through for even baking, until fragrant and nuts are toasted. remove from oven and let cool.

  5. while the granola is cooling, heat a pan over medium-low heat. once hot, add the coconut and toast, shaking the pan every now and then for even toasting. add the toasted coconut to the granola, and toss together.

  6. once cool, store in a lidded jar for up to 7-9 days at room temperature.

similar recipes:

COZY BANANA BREAD GRANOLA

COZY BANANA BREAD GRANOLA

PANTRY GRANOLA

PANTRY GRANOLA

PEPITA-COCONUT GRANOLA

PEPITA-COCONUT GRANOLA

CHUNKY MONKEY BANANA BREAD MUFFINS (GLUTEN-AND-DAIRY-FREE) /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

comfort in the form of food. i think it’s a place where we’ve collectively found relief in these times (if we’re fortunate enough). the past few weeks i’ve been craving everything from eggs, to meaty pasta dishes, buttered toast, and very specific baked goods. i think the psychological toll of a pandemic has us reaching to foods that soothe us/make us happy. no wonder then, the internet is aflame with homemade sourdough, pasta & carbs aplenty, banana bread, focaccia, etc., etc., etccccc. yes, many have more time on their hands to cook and pick up a new hobby, be that cooking or baking. but many of us, have way less time if there are children running or crawling around the house. i am grateful to be able to spend this time with my family, so many with essential jobs don’t have the opportunity to do that. but i would be remiss if i didn’t mention that i’m exhausted. both frank and i can easily feel overwhelmed at any given moment. despite that, we’re trying to make the most of our days - art projects, little morning walks, lots of music and dancing, and baking - lots of baking!

but let’s talk muffins, because we all deserve one (or 10). i took a bit of liberty with the recipe title. if you’re familiar with the ben & jerry’s ice cream flavor, chunky monkey, then you already know there’s banana and lots of chocolate chunks and walnut pieces. not much has changed here, except that instead of ice cream, it’s chunky monkey in muffin format. which naturally means you can eat one any time of day.

we use a couple brown, spotty bananas - the kind that sit on the counter that no one wants to touch (they should be that ripe). from there we use a few different flours to get a super puffy/fluffy gluten-free muffin with a good texture to boot. i call for 1 cup + of chocolate chunks because you will want and need more to top these muffins. while a couple ingredients are non-negotiable, many of them can be swapped for what you have on-hand - so ask away in the comment section if you don’t have some of the ingredients, and i can do my best to guide you, because you’re going to want to make these asap 😉

all my love and wishes for good health ❤️

chunky monkey banana bread muffins | gluten-and-dairy-free

notes:

while i love the combination of flours here to achieve a really good muffin, some can be substituted if you don’t have them all on-hand. please ask in the comment section and i will do my best to guide you :)

print the recipe

| makes 12 large muffins |

  • 1 cup fine brown rice flour

  • 1/2 cup almond flour

  • 1/4 cup arrowroot flour

  • 1/4 cup oat flour

  • 2/3 cup coconut sugar

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

  • 1 cup banana (roughly 2 large bananas), smooshed with a fork

  • 1/2 cup melted coconut oil

  • 2 large pasture raised eggs, at room temp

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 1 cup chocolate, plus more for topping

  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, plus more for topping

method

  1. preheat oven to 350°F, and line a muffin tin with 12 liners.

  2. in a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. in another large bowl, whisk together the smooshed banana, oil, eggs, and vanilla. mix the dry ingredients into the wet a little at a time, until combined. then fold in the chocolate chunks, and walnuts.

  3. evenly divide the batter among the 12 muffin tin liners, and top with extra chocolate and walnuts.

  4. bake in the center of your oven until a cake tester inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.

  5. let muffins cool for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the muffins to a cooling rack.

  6. eat warm, or at room temp. muffins will stay good for roughly 3 days on your counter, covered with parchment paper.

similar recipes:

STRAWBERRY-OAT COCOA MUFFINS

STRAWBERRY-OAT COCOA MUFFINS

COZY BANANA BREAD GRANOLA

COZY BANANA BREAD GRANOLA

DARK CHOCOLATE KABOCHA SQUASH MUFFINS

DARK CHOCOLATE KABOCHA SQUASH MUFFINS

COZY BANANA BREAD GRANOLA /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

early fall will forever be granola season in my house, i’m never able to really deep-dive into autumn right away (especially when daytime temps are still pretty warm), and granola is the perfect touch of cozy that shifts everything towards a more snug vibe, plus it’s a cinch to make, and lasts for breakfast and snacks throughout the week! but the kicker here is that the banana and spices give your home the coziest fragrance that immediately puts you in the mood for all things fall.

weekday breakfasts tend to be an eat-and-go situation where frank and i are independently huddled in some corner of the house trying to get food in our mouth while we feed amesy, and in between nursing joey. almost 2 months of juggling 2 children, and we still haven’t really gotten our groove, but having prepared breakfasts are key to starting our day out nourished and feeling our best. i love granola just for this reason: it has the ability to be the cornerstone of wholesome breakfasts and snacks.

this granola is grain free, and made from chopped nuts and seeds. we add a good bit of spice here to help with the banana bread flavor we’re going for. but the glue that holds it all together is my new favorite oil, thrive algae oil! it’s a wonderful oil to cook, bake, and make sauces and dressings with, especially when you don’t want any unwanted added flavor in what you’re cooking or baking. take this granola for example. we really want the banana to shine here, and thanks to this flavorless, odorless oil, it very much does! unlike most other flavorless oils, algae oil is high in the kinds of healthy monounsaturated fats our bodies love, and low in saturated fat. it’s really been a game changer in my kitchen. i also love that it’s widely available and isn’t a niche product. i get it at my local whole foods, but it’s available on amazon, and at grocery stores nationwide.

i hope you all are enjoying the first weeks of fall so far. our mornings in southern california are cool, but the afternoon temps are still in the 80s. but nevertheless, we’re planning on getting out and living up all those fun autumn activities - i’ve been looking into where L:A picks apple and pumpkins (it’s harder to find patches here than i thought), i’m also trying to get ahead of the game when it comes to halloween costumes for both the boys (!!), while also decking out our entrance for all things fall/halloween (amesy, who’s now 3, is alllll about it!).

big cozy hugs! xo

*this post was created in partnership with Thrive Algae Oil. all thoughts and opinions are, as always, my own. thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep dolly and oatmeal going!

cozy banana bread granola | v & gf

feel free to swap out any of the nuts and seeds for what you prefer or have on hand. if you don’t want this to be grain-free, by all means swap out some nuts for rolled oats or even puffed quinoa or rice. this is the kind of recipe that begs for customization.

print the recipe!

| makes roughly 3 cups |

  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

  • 1 cup chopped almonds and cashews

  • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

  • 1/2 sunflower seeds

  • 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

  • 1 ripe banana, peeled

  • 1/4 cup Thrive Algae Oil

  • 2 tablespoons good maple syrup

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

method

  1. preheat oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. in a large bowl, mix together the chopped nuts, seeds, spices, and salt. set aside.

  3. add the banana, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla to the container of a food processor fitted with a metal “s” blade. pulse until the mixture is completely smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides, as needed.

  4. pour the banana mixture over the nut and seed mixture. use a rubber spatula to thoroughly stir everything together. turn the granola out into the prepared baking sheet; use a spatula to evenly spread the granola out.

  5. baked for 15 minutes, then add the coconut and toss it together with the granola. bake for another 10-15 minutes, until lightly toasted and fragrant.

  6. let granola cool completely, then store in a lidded container. granola can be stored at room temperature for up to 5 days.