Dark Chocolate, Coconut and Chia Granola

It took me a few tries to perfect this recipe! I was hoping for something with a lot of chocolate flavor, some nice granola clumps, and good nutritional value.

It all started with my favorite granola - Bakery on Main's Bunches of Crunches. I had it for the first time after a race I ran in CT last year. Bakery on Main is a local CT company and there are usually samples of their products at the CT races. We picked up a few samples of their granola and I was just blown away by the flavor. It was also the first time I had seen chia seeds used in a granola recipe.

For a while I was buying bags of the coconut version on Amazon (although the dark chocolate sea salt was my favorite). At $4.50 - $5 for an 11 oz bag, it wasn't cheap, but I made the bag last as long as I could and considered it one of my few indulgences. However, lately it has been $8 for a bag and that's an expense I can't really justify. I decided instead I would try to make my own!

I read through a lot of recipes for chocolate coconut chia granola, and found that they all started with coconut oil. After that, there was a huge variation in the amount (and type of) of cocoa powder/chocolate, oats, sweetener, and chia.

My first version was okay - it smelled fantastic, but the chocolate flavor was pretty weak, and the coconut oil dominated too much. The chia seeds didn't stick to the granola itself, which was annoying.

In my second version I added an egg white (like Deb does from Smitten Kitchen) as well as adding additional cocoa powder, and that helped, but I still had chia seed fallout.

In my third version I think I got it right! I needed a second egg white to hold those chia seeds to the oats, and I added even more cocoa powder to really boost the chocolate flavor. This is a very lightly sweet granola - I eat mine with greek yogurt that has neen sweetened slightly with some protein powder, as well as ripe sweet berries. If you prefer a sweeter granola feel free to add more maple syrup or sugar. This recipe can also be doubled if you want more servings! I made it in small batches when I was recipe testing so I wouldn't waste too many ingredients if it didn't turn out well.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate, Coconut and Chia Granola
Yield: ~3 cups (12 1/4-cup servings)
Prep time: 10 minutes, Bake time: 30-34 minutes, Total time: 40-45 minutes

Ingredients:
2 tbsp coconut oil (28 grams)
1/4 cup cocoa powder (21 grams)
2 tbsp brown sugar (add more if you want a sweeter granola)
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey (add more if you want a sweeter granola)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp chia seeds (25 grams)
2 egg whites (~65 grams)
1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup crispy rice cereal (rice krispies)
1/4 cup chopped almonds (28 grams)
1/4 cup shredded coconut (I use sweetened)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 F and line a small baking sheet with foil, then lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large heat-safe bowl, microwave the coconut oil in 5-10 second bursts until it is melted but not hot. Stir in cocoa powder, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt and chia seeds until it forms a thick paste. Add the egg whites and mix well until smooth.

Pour in the oats, rice cereal, almonds and coconut, and stir well until everything is evenly coated.

Dump onto the foil-lined sheet and press down so it is all in one even layer. If your baking sheet is large, try to keep it all on one side of the pan - if it is spread out too much, some might burn.

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 325 F, stirring every 10 minutes, until dried out and crispy.
If you like big clusters, then try to flip over portions at a time rather than stirring - it will keep the clusters intact.
If you prefer a loose granola, then stir well each time.
Let cool completely and then store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Pre-Baking

Post-Baking - nice big clumps

Greek yogurt with 1/2 scoop protein powder, 1 tsp chia seeds,
topped with chopped strawberries, fresh figs, and 1 serving of granola

Notes:
1. Like I mentioned above, if you would prefer a sweeter granola, feel free to add additional brown sugar or maple syrup/honey. It will change the nutritional information below.
2. I like using a cocoa powder that is a blend of unsweetened and Dutch processed, like Hershey's special dark or Saco. However, it will turn out great with whatever kind of cocoa powder you have on hand.
3. While I have not tried this recipe with liquid egg whites (in a carton), I don't see why it wouldn't work. Your mixture might be slightly more wet, since liquid egg whites tend to be loose and less "gel"-like than fresh egg whites.
4. I use sweetened shredded coconut, but feel free to use unsweetened if that is what you prefer, or flaked coconut to add additional texture.
5. I use almonds because they are pretty healthy when it comes to nuts (and inexpensive), but feel free to add your favorite! Pecans, cashews, hazelnuts and peanuts would all work really well.
6. I use coconut oil because I wanted to boost the coconut flavor, and I have a giant jar of coconut oil that I had never used before. Feel free to use melted butter or oil instead.

Nutritional Information (based on 12 servings, sweetened coconut, and the listed amounts of sweetener):
116 calories
6 grams fat
15.5 grams carbohydrates
3 grams fiber
3.8 grams sugar
3.4 grams protein

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins with Surprise Cream Cheese Filling

I needed to make some kind of dark muffin with a cream filling for a bachelorette party. They were made in a uniquely shaped mold -- I'm not actually typing what I made, since I don't want to direct some inappropriate searches my way!

After I made the bachelorette-themed muffins, I made some standard muffins for myself, and they were absolutely delicious! I used a pumpkin muffin recipe for inspiration, and made just a few changes so it was chocolate, and wasn't as heavily spiced.

* Note: You don't have to use special dark cocoa powder, but I definitely recommend it. It is a blend of natural and dutch processed cocoa powder, which gives you the best of both worlds. It also gives you a crazy dark color, which I think is more fun

Recipe: Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins with Surprise Cream Cheese Filling
Yield: 12 muffins
Adapted from Annie's Eats

Filling:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Muffins:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup special dark cocoa powder *see note above
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
2/3 cup vegetable oil

Mix together the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a small bowl, and keep refrigerated.

Preheat oven to 350 and spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until well blended. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in increments, mixing until just barely combined.

Fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, and spread out so it covers the bottom. Add a scoop of the cream cheese mixture on top, dividing evenly between all of the wells. Cover each well with more muffin batter, using up the remainder of the batter.

Bake at 350 for 25, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy warm (but be careful of the hot filling!), at room temperature, or even chilled (they taste really fudgy that way).

The light was weird here, and they didn't look quite as dark

Nutrition:
268 calories
15.2 g fat
33 g carbs
2.6 g fiber
4.0 g protein
53% vitamin A

And in case you were curious, here are some pictures of the "bachelorette-themed" cupcakes! I only filled part of them with the cream cheese filling, thought it made them a bit more realistic...

Super Fudgy Brownies

I wanted to bake something very chocolate-y for my dad, for both his birthday and Father's Day. I found the perfect recipe in these brownies. They were incredibly rich, and completely worth the extra steps it took to make them. Normally I use Baker's Chocolate when I need unsweetened chocolate for a recipe, but the store was out! I used Ghirardelli, and it was delicious. I also didn't feel like dirtying my mixer, so I hand-beat the egg/sugar mixture. Lastly, I took them out of the oven at 35 minutes on the dot, and felt that they probably could have stayed in an extra few minutes, since they were just a little underdone. My dad didn't complain at all - he loved how fudgy they were. He loves cold brownies, so that helped firm up the insides.

Recipe: Super Fudgy Brownies
From: Handle the Heat
Yield: 16 brownies

Ingredients:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs plus 1 yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray, OR line with parchment paper.

In a double boiler (metal bowl set above a pot of simmering water - do not let the bowl touch the water), melt the chocolates and butter. Set aside and let cool slightly.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until thick and pale in color, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Stir in the cooled chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula (make sure the chocolate is not too hot - you don't want to scramble your eggs!) Gently fold in the flour and salt until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, giving the pan a tap on a counter to release any air. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is set and a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached. Let cool to room temperature before cutting (they cut better when cold). Serve chilled or at room temperature (or heat up and serve over ice cream)

I may have eaten a few before I took these pictures...