Chocolate Hazelnut Granola

A certain department store carries a version of this, which inspired me to try to make my own. Everyone enjoyed it–both kids and adults tend to enjoy cereal with chocolate.

The ground hazelnuts makes for a very strongly flavored cereal. Feel free to leave them out if you want a more neutral flavored granola enhanced by the chopped nuts.

Chocolate Hazelnut Granola

7 cups oats, quick or old-fashioned
2 cups puffed rice cereal (or another cup or so of oats)
1 — 2 cups roasted hazelnuts, chopped
1 ¼ cup sugar (use up to ½ cup more if you like sweeter cereal)
¼ cup honey
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup (80ml) water
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¾ — 1 cup chocolate chunks or chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, coffee grinder or blender, grind half the oats, rice and 1 cup nuts (optional) to a fine powder. In a large bowl, combine the whole oats, ground oats and all the nuts. Combine sugar, honey, oil and water in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until mixture bubbles and sugar is dissolved. Stir until smooth, then add salt and vanilla. Pour over the dry mixture, stirring well to coat. Everything should be moistened—add a little more water if necessary. Let stand for about ten minutes.

Spread the mixture out onto two large baking sheets, separating it into clumps (a thick rubber spatula is ideal for this, but fingers work fine as well). Slide onto two oven racks and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and stir, being careful to move the outer sections (which brown faster) into the middle and vice versa. Return to the oven, switching the positions of the pans, and bake another 10 minutes or so before stirring again. After another 10–15 minutes, the granola should be done. It should be golden brown and just a little moist; it will dry as it cools. Cool completely and stir in chocolate chunks.

Store in a covered container at room temperature.

To roast hazelnuts: preheat oven to 350 degrees and roast nuts on a pan for 10–15 minutes, until skins are dark. Transfer to a kitchen towel and cover for a minute to let nuts steam. Rub off skins in towel. Don’t worry if some of the skins remain. 

The ground oats make for a cruchier cereal similar to the kind you buy at a store. If you want a more traditional granola, skip this step and just combine everything whole.