granola

NUTTY CARDAMOM COCOA GRANOLA / October 8, 2020 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

preheat oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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.
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.
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.
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.
once cool, store in a lidded jar for up to 7-9 days at room temperature.

similar recipes:

COZY BANANA BREAD GRANOLA / October 2, 2019 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

COZY BANANA BREAD GRANOLA | 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

preheat oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
in a large bowl, mix together the chopped nuts, seeds, spices, and salt. set aside.
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.
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.
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.
let granola cool completely, then store in a lidded container. granola can be stored at room temperature for up to 5 days.

PEPITA-COCONUT GRANOLA W/ MAPLE ROASTED PLUMS / September 13, 2018 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Pepita-Coconut Granola w/ Maple Roasted Plums | Dolly and Oatmeal

to be honest september stumps me in terms of cooking. it’s the height of produce season where you get the wonderful overlap of late summer and early fall mixed into one, and it’s almost too much for my brain to compute! do you have the same problem? i get into a seasonal rhythm when i’m cooking breakfast, so when a new season comes along everything kinda gets thrown out the window. i’ve been having cold summer smoothies on heavy rotation, along with almond yogurt with summer berries and almond butter. i’ve also been making amesy pancakes loaded with sliced peaches and/or blueberries.

so whenever i think of shifting to september, when we want a hint of autumnal spice, but we’re not quite ready to go full throttle, i turn to granola. it’s the perfect conduit for touches of cozy that can paired with just about anything. i tend to go for grain-free granola mixes these days, but many-to-most, store-bought varieties tout their “soft & chewy” texture. not sure about you, but i’m team “hard & crunchy” when it comes to grain-free granola. so most times i just make my own.

this granola recipe pairs 2 of my favorite things: seeds and coconut flakes. coconut flakes are the vehicle here for ultimate flavor. when it’s mixed up and baked with a bit of sweetener, spices, and salt, it absorbs all that flavor delivering the most tasty granola. the roasted plums here were an afterthought, but so worth the little bit of time to make them. you just throw them together while the granola is cooling - easy-peasy. they add a perfect little touch of summer’s end.

happy september, sweet friends!

pepita-coconut granola w/ maple roasted plums | gf/v/grain-free

PRINT THE RECIPE!

| makes roughly 3 cups granola |

2 cups coconut flakes
1 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 cup chopped almonds
3 tablespoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a couple pinches fine sea salt
1/4 cup coconut nectar, maple syrup, or raw honey
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

plums

4 firm, but ripe plums, halved and pitted
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon melted coconut oil
pinch of salt
unsweetened plant-based yogurt or milk, for serving

method

preheat oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment.
in a large bowl, mix together the coconut flakes, pepitas, almonds, chia seeds, cinnamon, and salt.
in a small bowl, whisk together the coconut nectar, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. pour over dry ingredients. use a rubber spatula to mix the granola, making sure everything is mixed thoroughly and evenly.
spread the granola evenly into the baking sheet, pushing it out into a flat layer. bake for 25-30 minutes, mixing it halfway through, until it’s lightly browned, and fragrant. (the color of the granola will also depend on what liquid sweetener you use. mine resulted in a darker color because i used coconut nectar.)
let the granola cool, and raise the oven temperature to 400°F to roast the plums.
line a baking sheet with parchment paper and toss the plums together with coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt. roast the plums cut side up for 25-30 minutes, until tender and juicy, and lightly browned around the edges. let cool for about 10 minutes.
scoop your desired amount of yogurt into a bowl. top with a good bit of granola, and 1 or 2 plum halves; drizzle a bit of the plum juices around the bowl, and enjoy!
store the granola in a sealed jar at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. store leftover plums and juices in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week. reheat the plums or let them come to room temp before serving.