I thought I didn't like granola, but it turns out I simply don't like cinnamon in my breakfast cereal! Give me cinnamon in apple pancake, stewed prunes, even coconut bread, but leave my cereal be. I'm so glad to have figured that out – your collective concern about my dislike of granola was touching.
Oh, and also, chocolate in cereal is fantastic. Who knows what I was thinking when I said I couldn't eat that for breakfast on a regular basis. Chocolate is great for breakfast! Essential, even.
I made this the way Molly did, and it was perfect. Then it was gone, about two days later. Ben had one bowl, I foolishly gave some to my upstairs neighbor and the rest, erm, was eaten by me. Yes. So I had to make another batch, of course. Of course!
In the second batch, I thought I'd tone down the sugar and the chocolate a little. I'm supposed to be in a bathing suit in four (4!) days! Doubling all the ingredients but the sugar and chocolate left me with a nicely balanced, delicately sweet granola. Is it as good as the original? No, it's not. But it's still pretty tasty, plus it makes me feel somewhat virtuous.
Overrated, I know, that feeling is.
(The first time I made this, I used Valrhona Manjari. The second time I used Lindt's Bittersweet. The Manjari was better. Was that even a surprise?)
French Chocolate Granola
Makes approximately 10 cups
6 cups rolled oats
1 cup raw almonds, chopped
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
12 tablespoons mild honey
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup finely chopped bittersweet chocolate (containing around 56% cocoa solids)
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, coconut, sugar, and salt. Stir well to blend.
3. In a small saucepan, warm the honey and oil over low heat, stirring gently, until the honey is loose. Pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to combine well.
4. Spread the mixture evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden. Set a timer to go off halfway through the baking time, so that you can give the granola a good stir; this helps it to cook evenly. When it’s ready, remove the pan from the oven, stir well – this will keep it from cooling into a hard, solid sheet – and cool completely.
5. When cool, transfer the granola to a large bowl, storage jar, or zipper-lock plastic bag. Add the chocolate, and stir (or shake, if using a jar or bag) to mix. Store in an airtight container.
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