Dark Chocolate Granola with Peanut Butter

Sounds totally indulgent, doesn't it?  Trust me, it's actually pretty healthy.

(Just don't tell my kids.)

I make my usual granola about every week and a half but this morning a light bulb went off...

Why not stir in some dark cocoa powder?  I can call it "chocolate" but it won't add any fat, very little calories and would boost my granola with magnesium and antioxidants.

I. Am. Genius.

My mouths of my children will be hanging open wondering what happened to their mom. Who is this woman and why is she feeding us chocolate for breakfast?!

Oh yes, mother-of-the-day award... right here folks.

Dark Chocolate Granola with Peanut Butter
((Printable Recipe))

8 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
5 tablespoons brown sugar (or 4 tablespoons raw sugar and 1 tablespoon molasses)
5 tablespoons raw honey
6 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or coconut oil
1 heaping tablespoon chunky raw peanut butter
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional, you can use more coconut oil)
4 tablespoons dark cocoa powder or cacao powder
1 pinch sea salt
1 handful whole, raw almonds, roughly chopped
1 handful whole, raw walnuts, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons ground flax seed (optional)
2 tablespoons wheat germ (optional)
2-4 tablespoons unsweetened raw ground coconut (optional)

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F.

In a small sauce pan, bring the sugar, honey, orange juice, salt, oil, butter and peanut butter to a simmer- just until the sugar is dissolved.  Stir in the coconut.

In a large rimmed cookie sheet pan or jelly roll pan, place the oats, chopped nuts, flax seed and wheat germ.  Pour the cocoa mixture over the oats and stir until the oats and nuts are well coated.

Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Cool and store in an air-tight container.

*Note: This granola is lower in sugar and fat than your typical store-bought granola. The oats will not be in as big of clumps as you might be used to.  But trust me, it is totally delicious and you won't miss all that extra fat, calories and sugar.

Featured on: Taste Spotting, Food Gawker

Linked to: Fave Diets, Sweet as Sugar Cookies, Simply Gourmet Photography