The Ultimate Chocolate Granola

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss the oats, almonds, coconut, cocoa, salt, and 1/3 cup of the sugar in a large bowl. Whisk the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla together. Set aside. Pour the liquids over the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Spread the granola into two large jelly roll pans in an even layer.

2. for 50 minutes total, stopping about halfway through to check the granola and shake or stir the pan if needed. After 50 minutes, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the granola, return to the oven for 5-10 minutes until chocolate chips are very soft. Sprinkle with the remaining turbinado sugar and coarse sea salt to taste. The added sugar and salt should stick the outside of the chocolate chips. *YES*

3. Let the granola stand for 1-2 hours. Gently scoop the granola into jars or an airtight container for storing. The advantage of doing this when the chocolate chips are still soft (at the 1-2 hour mark) is that it makes for great texture once it cools – the chocolate chips will sort of melt their way into the clusters and harden within each individual granola cluster. SO GOOD. You can also leave the granola out overnight or for several hours until the chocolate chips are fully cooled and hardened if you want to preserve the shape of the individual chocolate chip pieces in the granola.