Chocolate and Coconut Granola

Well, it’s been a crazy few weeks, having gone home to Ireland for the Christmas holidays and caught up with family and friends and ate puddings and drank mulled wine, sang songs, sat by the fire, feasted on good solid Irish food and then whizzed back to Perth to begin the new year in sunny style.

Leaving Sligo in almost minus degrees the week after New Years Day and landing in a whopping 35 degree heated Perth was a little drastic, pairing that with some groggy jet lag and you have the makings of a not so eager beaver. It has taken a couple of days to readjust to the heat and going to bed at a ridiculously early hour most nights brought me back to normal in no time. So, needless to say I am glad to be back after an amazing holiday and looking forward to more baking, thanks to my shiny new uber amazing Kitchen Aid and also bringing you some recipes that I have under my sleeve and have kept me from sleeping on many of my jet lagged mornings.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been perusing through blogs, noticing a lot of food bloggers are adapting the healthy approach to new year blogging and others well they’re just having their cake and eating it. This morning, my usual lie in morning was rudely interrupted by my inner alarm clock. I was up and at ‘em at 7:30 am this morning, willing myself to go back to sleep but my inner alarm clock wanted otherwise. I was padding about, reading cookbooks and watching some online foodie video blogs. Then, I remembered that a few months ago, Lilly Higgins had made this beautiful looking granola from The Vintage Tea Party by Angel Adore. It sparked my interest immediately because of course the decadent addition of chocolate! I had planned on making it ages ago but as with most things, it got pushed to the side. So, seeing as I had a couple of hours to spare before hitting the markets this morning, I put a batch together. Let me tell you, it fills your house with divine smells of chocolate and it lingers for hours. Yum!

As it is the new year and people are that little bit more health conscious, I thought that this recipe would be the perfect idea to be part of the We Should Cocoa Challenge. This month’s challenge is from Chele at The Chocolate Pot, she wants participants to post recipes that are health conscious. I think that this recipe is a pretty good way of treating yourself to some chocolatey goodness in a light and healthy way. It is sure to set you up for the day and keep your sweet tooth ticking over

Recipe adapted from The Vintage Tea Party by Angel Adore

220g rolled oats

70g Spelt

100g flaked almonds

70g shredded unsweetened coconut

20g goji berries

70g brown sugar

40g cocoa powder

100ml maple syrup

50ml vegetable oil

Heat the oven to 120 degrees.

Mix the oats, spelt, almonds, goji berries, sugar and coconut in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl combine the maple syrup, oil and cocoa, I used raw cacao powder here, it was quite powerful when I mixed it through the oats but once cooked it mellows out.

Place on two lined baking trays and pop in the oven for 1 hour, checking every 15-20 minutes to stir and mix up the mixture.

Leave to cool and place in a jar. I filled a one quart jar.

c.a. xx