Chocolate Chunk Granola

Guys, it’s okay.

You guys! Don’t freak out. I know that granola sounds like a health food. I know you come to my blog looking for recipes with components like chocolate covered bacon, and you don’t want anything to do with these goddamn flax seeds.

I know. I empathize with that. But there are several reasons that I decided to post this recipe:

1. I invented it! Well, adapted it. But still!
2. Granola is part of a balanced breakfast. I eat it every morning with yogurt. It’s good for you!
3. This granola has chocolate in it.

See? Chocolate. Everything’s going to be fine.

I’m trying to eat healthier foods in general. It’s going well, but it has not been an easy road for me. I mean, I was one of those kids who would eat all the M&Ms out of her trail mix, and nothing else. So even though I started eating natural granola instead of highly processed cereals for breakfast, I still found myself opting for the varieties that contained chocolate. My personal favorite brand is Back to Nature, but it costs a lot of money for a little granola. So, after combing a couple blogs and cookbooks, I came up with a recipe that’s good(-ish) for me, and appeases my sweet tooth.  Here goes:

Chocolate Chunk Granola

6 c. oats (I used Quaker, but any old oats will do.  Just not instant.)

1 c. wheat germ

¼ c. flax seeds

¼ c. sesame seeds

¼ c. brown sugar

1 tbsp. cocoa powder (I, of course, used my favorite Black Onyx cocoa powder.)

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. salt

½ c. honey

1/3 c. vegetable oil

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 package of dark chocolate chips (dark chocolate is better for you than milk chocolate—I’ve read a lot of articles that say it may even be good for you in small qualities, but I’m no scientist, so please don’t take my word for it).

Preheat over to 300 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and stir well.  Transfer mixture into a large (9x13”) baking dish.

Heat honey, oil, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium-low heat until combined.  Then pour the honey mixture over the oat mixture and stir it with a rubber spatula.  Bake for an hour, thoroughly stirring every 10 minutes with a rubber spatula.

When the granola has turned dark brown (but not burnt), it is done.  Cool on a wire rack.  When it’s completely cool, you can add your chocolate chips!  If you are not a big chocolate fan, first of all, why are you reading this blog?  And second, feel free to omit the chocolate, or add a dried fruit of your choice at this stage.

And voila! tasty, crunchy, chocolaty granola.  It made my apartment smell amazing all morning, and I made enough of it to last me about two weeks.  It should keep in an airtight container for about a week, and in the freezer indefinitely (I really have no clue).

Also, according to my (very dubious) calculations, this granola cost me a little over 50 cents a serving.  Not bad!  But I bet I could get it cheaper…must investigate.

Enjoy!

Roxanne

P.S.  Here's how I enjoy my morning granola:

Chocolate Chip Cookies That Make a Great Second Impression

So here’s a secret:

When I want to make chocolate chip cookies, do you know what recipe I use? I use the one on the back of Tollhouse chocolate chips. It is a solid recipe that has never steered me wrong in all my life.

But for some reason, when I saw this recipe from the New York Times, labeled “Thick-and-Gooey Chocolate-Chip Cookies,” I was overcome by the urge to try it.

The dough (yes, I eat raw cookie dough, salmonella be damned) was delicious, so I had high hopes when I pulled the first tray from the oven. But when I tasted one, I found it bland. Not bad, exactly; just average.

I was all prepared to go back to the good old Tollhouse recipe, but then the next morning…something happened. I ate another cookie, and it was incredible. It was the best second-day cookie I’d ever eaten. It was wonderfully soft, and the flavor was significantly better than it had been the night before. I can’t explain it, I can only say that those cookies were damn good.

Here’s my final verdict on the subject of chocolate chip cookies: if I were making cookies for a lot of people, and knew they were al going to get eaten the very first day, I would use the classic Tollhouse recipe. But if I knew these cookies were going to be sitting around for a couple days, this is the recipe I would use.

The recipe:
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. kosher salt
8 oz (two sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3 c. chopped bittersweet chocolate (chunks and shavings)
2 c. chopped walnuts (optional; I of course chose to forgo the nuts)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat (we were out of parchment, so I did without. It didn’t seem to create any problems). Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy, 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. Add the flour mixture all at once and blend until a dough forms. Fold in the chocolate and walnuts. Chill the dough.

Roll 1/4 -cup lumps of dough into balls (I prefer smaller cookies. Mine were a generous tablespoon, and I cooked them for about 11 minutes), then place on the baking sheet and flatten to 1/2 -inch-thick disks spaced 2 inches apart. Chill the dough between batches. Bake until the edges turn golden, 14 to 17 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheet, then transfer to a baking rack.

 Oh, and here's a friendly tip: if you take two of these and put some ice cream in the middle, you've got yourself a killer ice cream sandwich.

Enjoy!

More from Magnolia: Double Chocolate Chip Heath Bar Cookies

Today was the last day before our four-day Fall Break, and I had only one class.  To celebrate I made these deliciously evil cookies, adapted from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook.  But before I tell you about these cookies, let me introduce you to my workspace here at school:

So here's the kitchen in my dorm.  Keep in mind that this is the "good" kitchen on my floor.  The one on the other side of the hall is basically made up of a closet with a sink in it and an alcove containing a small refrigerator with a microwave on top of it.

Maybe that picture didn't really illustrate how narrow the space is, so:

Oh yeah.  The width of the room is approximately that of a door (or, one human and one trash can).  Did I mention that this kitchen is shared by sixteen people?

If I'm in there baking cookies and Corey needs to come in and heat up some taquitos, I have to glue myself to the wall to let him get to the microwave.  There's barely even room for my disgruntled cat timer!

No fancy gadgets, no counter space, and other people's dishes everywhere.  It's quite the challenge.  But we make it work!

Now, on to the recipe...

The recipe calls for pecans, but man, do I not like pecans.  So instead of pecans, I put in EXTRA chocolate chips.  If you are weird and you don't hate pecans, you should put in 1 1/2 c. pecans instead of 1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips.

2 1/4 c. flour
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (I used 1/3 c. regular cocoa powder and 1/3 c. black onyx cocoa powder)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/3 c. (2 2/3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
3 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. MILK CHOCOLATE CHIPS (not damn pecans)
1/2 c. white chocolate chips
4 coarsely chopped Heath Bars or similar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars.  Beat in eggs.  Beat in milk and vanilla.  Beat in flour mixture and mix thoroughly.  Stir in the chocolate chips and Heath Bars (oh, fine, add the pecans too).

Drop in teaspoon-sized balls onto ungreased cookie sheet; bake 10-12 minutes.

Here's an extreme close up of a cookie with a very shallow depth of field.  Isn't it a freaking delicious-looking cookie?  Because it's freaking delicious.  I think I ate at least one from every batch I made, and I made about six batches.  Yikes.

Make some cookies now!

Death by Chocolate Brownies

This is the reason I make food.  Look at these things.  They are pure evil, but oh, they are a magical and irresistible treat.  MAGICAL I SAY.

Also, I'm already almost completely out of that cocoa powder.  But it has been put towards noble efforts.

Anyhow, Hannah and I made these for dessert yesterday.  Hannah likes a nutty brownie, while I prefer mine plain.  So we made two small batches.  I should mention that I've made this recipe from Buns in My Oven several times, and that I've somehow only managed to make it "right" (i.e. actually following the recipe) twice, and even the mess-ups are unbelievably good.

That said, a recipe:
1 c. (2 sticks) butter
2 1/4 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. [dark chocolate] cocoa powder
4 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. espresso powder
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. flour
2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9x13 baking dish (since we wanted some with nuts and some without, we used two smaller pans, but we noticed the baking time didn't change much).

Melt putter over low heat in a saucepan.  Once the butter is melted, add the sugar and stir for about 1 minute.

Pour the butter mixture into a mixer (or, if you're ghetto like me at college, a bowl with a wooden spoon).  Beat in the cocoa powder, eggs, salt, baking powder, espresso powder and vanilla.  Mix until well combined.  It will look all sexy and rich and dark, like my ideal man.  Wait, what?

OOooooh.  Hannah goes "Can I touch it?"  Why yes, you can.

Mix in the flour and chocolate chips.  If you're making a batch with nuts, add those now too.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until the outside looks set but the inside is still slightly gooey.

Hannah made a little happy pecan man.

Hannah swears these tasted magical as well, but I hate pecans so I didn't even bother.

Double Chocolate Coal Cookies

Do you know what this is?

This is Black Onyx Unsweetened Cocoa Power from Culinary District.

I bought it today at Surfas, a wonderful restaurant supply store in Culver City.  And it makes my life amazing.  For example, observe its effect on these Double Chocolate "Coal" Cookies, the recipe for which I adapted from Peace of Cake.

Take a look at those babies.  Mmm, mm-mm-mmmm.  I TOLD you dark chocolate cocoa powder was important.  So if you want to make these delicious cookies (and why wouldn't you?) just follow along.
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. dark cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. espresso powder
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 c. sugar
2/3 c. light brown sugar (packed)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat your oven to 375 degrees.  Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and espresso powder.  In a separate bowl, beat the butter until fluffy, about 1 minute.  Add sugars and beat again, about 2 minutes.  Beat in vanilla, then eggs (one at a time, beating for about a minute after each egg).

Mixing at a low speed, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients until just incorporated.  Mix in the chocolate chips.  Here's a picture of the sexy, sexy batter:

Mmmmmmmm.  Oh baby.

Ahem.  Drop the batter in tablespoons on a cookie sheet (I don't line or grease mine, but it wouldn't hurt).

There are my tablespoonfuls, and some Bad Romance in the background for good measure.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until gooey on the inside but crunchy around the edges.

And now you have cookies that resemble coal in appearance but not in taste!  The best of both worlds!

Chocolate-Chip-Cookies-'n'-Cream Cookies!!!

I mean, wow.  My theory is, the longer a recipe's title, the better the outcome.  So you already know these are gonna be good.  Although the title IS monstrous.  Maybe we should call 'em "CCCnCCs."  Anyhow, take a look at these babies:

The recipe is basically a normal chocolate chip cookie recipe, but you add crumbled Oreos along with the chocolate chips.  I was so happy when I found this on Lovin' From the Oven because I LOVE Oreos.  Looking for a late night study treat?  I recommend Oreos dunked in coffee.  Or, even better, try these out.  Basically the only thing I changed was that I doubled the recipe, which was a good call because they disappeared in an instant.

2 sticks softened butter (I never soften my butter, but that's my thing.  You do your thing)
3/4 c. sugar 
3/4 c. brown sugar 
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla 
2 1/2 c. flour 
1 tsp baking soda 
1 tsp salt 
20 Oreos, broken into pieces (they should be small, but don't worry too much because trust m, they'll get broken in the mixer)
 2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Cream the butter and sugars together until combined.  Add eggs and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in thirds.  Mix well.  Add the Oreos and chocolate chips and mix until just combined.


Drop balls of dough (about a tablespoon or a little less is a good size) onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes.

Simple, huh?  So delicious too.  A great way to trick people into being your friends.