Thursday, October 29, 2009

Chocolate for Breakfast

Gift giving can be quite a challenge. It seems like everyone I know has three of everything and don't need any more "stuff" that just sits around and needs to be dusted. Most people like to eat, though, so edible gifts are usually well-received.

As a small gift, I made some chocolate granola a few days ago. There is something very fun and decadent about eating chocolate for breakfast, and it makes for the most perfect midnight snack too. I was very pleased with the results and might make more batches of this granola as holiday gifts.

I came upon this recipe based on a recommendation on a food blog, not by the blogger but by someone leaving a comment. On this post, someone named Claire commented, "...I have a wonderfully indulgent recipe for chocolate granola, made with cocoa, from the Green & Black's chocolate cookbook." This caught my eye, I did some rapid web searching and luckily found the recipe online. So, to all those who take the time to leave thoughtful and helpful comments on food blog posts, I thank you! People do benefit from your comments.

Cherry Chocolate Granola

ChocGra1

Adapted from Green and Black's Cocoa Crunch recipe, makes a BIG batch!

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease a large sheet pan or cover it with a sheet of parchment paper.

2. In a small saucepan, mix
¾ cup sugar
½ cup water
Warm the mixture to form a syrup, let it cool a bit, then add
3.5 oz chopped milk chocolate (one average sized bar)
¼ cup canola oil
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

3. In a large bowl, mix together
4 cups Rice Krispies cereal
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
¼ heaped cup cocoa powder

4. Add the sugar mixture to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spread it on the baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 30-35 mins, stirring every few minutes and making sure it does not burn.

5. When it comes out of the oven, add a large handful of dried cherries.

I packaged the granola in a suitably kitschy container, since Halloween is in the air.
ChocGra2


Do you want to see the silliest bear ever made? Here she is :D She was a gift so someone else now has custody of her.
GirlBear3


Finally, Dale has a tip for you: To stay warm, sleep in layers!
Dalu

24 comments:

  1. Nupur, Chocolate Granola sounds yumm. Can I use Murmura instead of Rice Krispies? What do you say?
    Thanks in advance.

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  2. Chocolate granola.. sounds great!
    The bear is cute! I thought it was for Dale !
    As usual Dale looks awesome ! Warm Hugs and a woof to him!

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  3. Chocolate for breakfast - Why not ever? My newest favorite indulgence is Green & Black's 85% chocolate. When I read that the recipe is from G&B cookbook, I was imagining chunks of dark chocolate in my granola. But you went a step further and coated the oats with chocolate - how can it go worng! Can you post the picture of the silliest bear ever made? I think you accidentally posted a pic of the cutest bear instead.

    Dale is a pooch after my own heart, that's how I like to sleep - in layers.

    And homemade gifts are the best!

    Mamatha

    P.S.: How much water do you use? Looks like the amount got messed up while displaying.

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  4. Chocolate granola sounds yummy!!
    Nice way to start a day!!

    I just loved that bear...beautiful!!

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  5. Nupur, you have an eye for these things that is amazing. Who wouldn't be pleased with snacking on some chocolatey granola in the morning. Munching on these would be perfect.

    I have got to try!!!

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  6. One more quick question, do you think honey instead of sugar would work or atleast half and half.

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  7. Granola looks great. Nice way to have chocolate for breakfast. Dale looks very cozy...makes me feel like leaving for home early today.

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  8. I just made your granola recipe this past weekend and now you have another one already. I've got to try this, my hubby will love the addition of chocolate.

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  9. Daaaaamn...that looks good. Mmm, mmm, mmm. I've had gestational diabetes until recently, so now I'm ready to eat some yummy goodies.

    Dale looks so cute!

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  10. Dale and the doll are so cute! and of course granola looks yummy :)

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  11. Nice nice... granola is one thing I haven't tried yet... made some miracle bars 2 years ago... nothing after that.

    The teddy bear is so cute...and so is Dalu!

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  12. Mona- I haven't tried it myself, but granola recipes are highly flexible so I am quite sure murmura will work fine. Maybe you can halve the recipe to try it out. If cornflakes are available to you, those should work in place of the rice krispies too.

    Manasi- Dale tried to bite off the poor bear's head :D no dolls for him!!

    Mamatha- I fixed the water amount, thanks for pointing it out! 85% now that's super super dark :) Chunks of dark choc could certainly be added to this recipe to make it just right for chocoholics!

    Chakhlere- Thanks :)

    Indosungod- You are right- this is a great snack, a handful is just right for between-meal snacking. Granola recipes are really flexible and I am quite sure honey could be used instead of sugar. This recipe is pretty sweet so you could cut down on the amount of sweetener to suit your taste.

    Supriya- I know, every time I look at Dale all snuggled up, I want to do the same!

    Pavani- I hope the other granola recipe worked for you. This one is a special treat!

    Mari- Well, this is a 2-in-1 way to satisfy sugar and chocolate cravings at once!

    Mints!- Thank you :)

    Raaga- I make granola often, bars not really but they both are great to snack on.

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  13. love love love that bear!!! you followed a pattern or its your own innovation?

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  14. great gift - I am not really into chocolate for breakfast but I would love this on yoghurt for dessert maybe with some berries or cherries - yay cherries will be in season soon in Melbourne!!!! - it is hot here so dale would be throwing off the layers in our house - cute halloween jar - nice packaging can really make a foodie present special

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  15. Hello Nupur,

    I am a regular visitor of your blog, but have never left a comment before. I tried your standarzied granola recipie just now and it turned out great. This is the first time I tried making granola. I pretty much followed your recipie- few variations that i made was to add a little bit of honey to the sugar syrup, added a cup of puffed brown rice to the rolled oats+ nuts mixture, added cardamom powder instead of cinnamon and instead of candied orange peel added orange flavored dried craneberries and I did not add any store bought cereals. It turned out great. Thank you for sharing your recipies.

    Regards,
    Uma

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  16. This granola would be great with yogurt for an afternoon snack. I'm bookmarking!

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  17. Hi Nupur first time on your comment page. Simply love this idea of chocolate for breakfast. am on a dieting phase now... hope would be able to use this recipe to suit my requirement. I loooooooove to sleep in layers but with a 6 months old thats kinda reverie for me.

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  18. Mm..this sounds good for that late night snack...love the bear. You are so right...everyone has three of everything. Home made food makes everyone happy!

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  19. Hey Nupur,
    Bear is choooooooooo cute. I want that.... one. Vani

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  20. Sandhya- I followed a pattern from this book but ended up improvising quite a bit.

    Johanna- You are so right, this would make for a easy, satisfying dessert. It would be so good with fresh sweet cherries!

    Uma- Thanks for taking the time to leave your feedback! Cardamom sounds wonderful, I'll have to try that sometime.

    Lydia- I hope you get to make it soon :)

    Sayantani- With dark chocolate and less sugar, I think this would be fine on a diet, in moderation.

    Bharti- Yes, home made gifts are fun to make too, for those of us who like to cook, anyway!

    Vani- The little bear already left for another home :D I'll have to make you one sometime!

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  21. Dearest Nupur,

    Choco granola looks lovely, but I really loved Dale in layers :)

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  22. i love that teddy bear and dale looks so cozy. Chocolate for breakfast-can it get better? Every time I look at Dale, itch to own a dog increases. Wondering when that day will come.

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  23. Isn't it great how chocolate can improve a lot of things? :)
    Shall try this one.

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