Yields: 6 cups granola
Ingredients
- 2½ cups gluten free extra thick rolled oats
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- ¼ cup raw flax seeds
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- ½ cup good quality maple syrup
- ¾ cup dried cherries
- 2 ounces dark chocolate chopped (You can use dark chocolate chips if you like, but I like to buy a bar of Lindt dark chocolate and just chop it up into small pieces.)
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 300 degrees.
- In a large bowl combine the oats, cooked quinoa, pecans, chia and flax seeds, cinnamon and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut oil and maple syrup.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well, making sure that the oat mixture is very well moistened. I like to get in there with my hands and mix for a good two minutes.
- Spread your granola in an even layer (about ¼-inch thick) on two parchment lined baking sheets. Transfer the granola to the oven and cook for 35-40 minutes until it’s golden brown. Remove the baking sheets from the oven every ten minutes and give the granola a stir to make sure it bakes evenly.
- Let your granola cool completely (this should take about an hour) so that it stiffens up a little bit. After the granola has cooled, you can break it up into clumps and pieces and fold in the dried cherries and dark chocolate.
- Store your granola in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Eat however/whenever your little heart desires.