I love a good kitchen challenge, whether it’s figuring out how to use a new ingredient, or planning and preparing a special occasion menu. So when Bryn Mooth of writes4food reached out to me to collaborate on a recipe, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
I first “met” Bryn when she was an editor for HOW (one of the media outlets I develop content for on behalf of The Creative Group) and started working more closely with her after she left her full-time job to pursue a freelancing career. (When she isn’t busy writing for creative agencies, food and wellness brands, various online and print publications, her blog, and a new cookbook, she contributes to the TCG Blog, which I manage.) But despite all the emails we’ve exchanged, phone calls we’ve had and HOW conferences we’ve attended, we’ve never crossed paths.
Still, I feel like Bryn’s no stranger, largely because I’ve been following her blog since it launched in 2010. I love that she posts recipes I’d actually make – a mix of simple, healthy dishes and comfort food (just take a look at The Clara Project, inspired by vintage recipe cards).
All this to say, this almond berry chocolate chip (aka ABC) cookie granola was inspired by Bryn’s chocolate berry pecan granola. When she discovered my cranola addiction, she suggested we develop a mashup and so this recipe was born. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
P.S. Head over to Bryn’s blog to check out her spin on the recipe.
- ½ cup sliced almonds, divided
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup coconut oil, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup white whole-wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2½ cups rolled oats
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a food processor, pulse ¼ cup almonds and sugar until coarsely ground.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the coconut oil and almond/sugar mixture on high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and almond extract and beat until well combined.
- Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined. Then add the oats and remaining almonds and stir with a wooden spoon. When the ingredients start to come together, use your hands to continue mixing until all the oats and almonds are covered with dough.
- Squeeze off chunks of dough and loosely break them apart over the baking sheet, creating large clumps.
- Bake the cranola for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and stir gently. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, remove from the oven and stir gently. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until clumps are dry.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and sprinkle dried cranberries over hot cranola. Let cool for 15 minutes and then sprinkle chocolate chips over cranola. Let cool completely before stirring (or the chocolate chips will melt).
- Store cranola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, if it lasts that long.
[…] concept and my favorite pecan-cranberry-chocolate granola recipe. See Alison’s version, Almond Berry Chocolate Cookie Granola, on Two of a Kind Cooks. I decided to stick with pecans instead of Alison’s almonds (though […]