Granola Clusters

I made us some granola!

And man, is it good! Today’s post is one of those glorious recipes that come together on the first try AND look beautiful!

This may surprise the non-food bloggers out there, but along with the normal recipe testing for each post, I sometimes have to re-shoot a dish multiple times, as well! In the case of this granola, first time around the recipe didn’t quite work out AND the photo shoot failed. So I decided to start from scratch and man, am I glad I did!After my first failure, I decided to look around for some inspiration and ended up basing my recipe off of this one. I changed up the nuts to incorporate my personal fav, almonds, and subbed in the blueberries and golden raisins instead of craisins! From there I tweaked a few other ingredients and ended up with what I can safely say is my ideal granola.  It’s rich in flavor, thanks to the maple syrup, but not too sweet! And it has a fantastic crunchy texture that creates those granola clusters we all love (or, is that just me?)

And can’t you just imagine this between layers of a vanilla yogurt parfait? So SO good! I seriously ate a bowl full of this for breakfast this morning and I can already say, it’s the best decision I’m going to make all day. What makes this granola unique is that it’s actually jam-packed with good-for-you ingredients! The use of dried blueberries, coconut oil (instead of canola), flax seed, chia seeds, maple syrup, and cocoa nibs pretty much make this the most healthy granola I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.

So what I’m trying to say is that you need to get to making this, STAT! I recommend making a huge batch and just throwing it on everything (I actually brought a baggie into work with me today for a midday snack!).

5.0 from 2 reviews

Granola Clusters

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

1 hour 10 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

 

Author: The Blonde Chef

Serves: 4 cups

What You'll Need

• 6-8 Mejool dates, pitted and chopped
• 1 cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup dried blueberries
• ¼ cup golden raisins
• 2 tbs. chia seeds
• 2 tbs. flax seeds
• ½ cup sunflower seeds
• ½ cup raw almonds
• ½ cup peanuts
• 2 cups raw oats
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp un-refined coconut oil

Instructions

1. Add the chopped dates, blueberries, golden raisins, maple syrup, vanilla, and coconut oil to a medium-sized pot and heat over a medium-high heat.
2. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes or, until the mixture is easily crushed by the back of a fork.
3. Set aside to cool.
4. Preheat the oven to 350.
5. Add the remaining ingredients (oatmeal, nuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, and sea salt) to a large bowl and mix together.
6. Pour the slightly cooled syrup mixture into the dry ingredients and use a spatula to mix until well combined.
7. Place in the oven to cook for about 40 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and use a fork to separate into large clumps. Plage the mixture back into the oven for another 10 minutes to get nice and golden.
9. Set aside to cool for about 20-30 minutes.
10. Once fully cooled, place in a ziploc bag to store or serve on top of your favorite yogurt!
11. To a lightly oiled baking dish, add the mixture and use a spatula to press into the pan.

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