This last Christmas, I decided to get all crafty and make edible presents for people.
I bought lots of cute jars and ribbons and tags. I made this Black Forest granola and typed up the recipe in a cute little font to be printed on cute little paper to be attached to the cute little jars with the cute little ribbons. In my head, it was going to be adorable. It would have put Martha Stewart to shame.
Reality: On Christmas Eve morning, I spilt water all over my laptop in the midst of putting the finishing touches on the recipe before going to print. This caused me to say a lot of naughty words and rendered my laptop absolutely useless as it spent the rest of the day in pieces, air-drying. Then instead of cute little recipe cards being attached to the jars of granola, my giftees just got cute little ribbons and me saying "It's Black Forest Granola. With chocolate and dried cherries. It's gluten-free and sugar-free... Is the recipe on my blog? Um, no..."
So, a month later, I decided to make it again so my giftees would have the recipe, should they want it. I went looking for my adorable little recipe, but sadly, the water, along with ruining my trackpad, must have erased the recipe. So I recreated it to the best of my memory. I wish I still had some of that ribbon so I could show you how adorable the jars would have looked...
This granola is, like most granolas, absolutely delicious when eaten by the handful. The rich chocolatey crunch combined with chewy dried cherries is terribly addictive. However, this black forest granola truly shines when just simply poured in a bowl of almond milk. At first, the creaminess of the milk takes on the role of whipped cream in a traditional black forest cake. Every bite is both rich and refreshing, the cherries offering occasional bursts of tanginess. Then the milk begins to get chocolatey, and you begin to feel like a kid, rushing to eat your cereal so you can drink the chocolate milk straight from the bowl.
With Valentines Day coming up, might I suggest giving your loved ones this healthy yet deliciously rich little treat? It tastes great and it looks really beautiful in a jar with some cute ribbon tied around it. With, perhaps, a nicely typed recipe attached?
Ingredients
- 2 cups crisp brown rice cereal (gluten-free, if required)
- 2 cups rolled oats (gluten-free, if required)
- 2 cups puffed millet
- 2 cups puffed kamut
- 1/2 cup hemp hearts (shelled hemp seeds)
- 1/2 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons cacao powder or cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons brown rice syrup
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 tablespoon chocolate extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients.
- Heat the wet ingredients in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes. Alternatively, you can heat the wet ingredients in a saucepan, until it just begins to bubble around the edges.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and thoroughly combine. Divide the mixture between the two baking sheets and spread out evenly.
- Bake the granola for 45 minutes, switching shelves for each sheet (i.e. placing the sheet from the top shelf on the lower shelf and vice versa). Once done, let cool completely before transferring to an air-tight container.
Did you give edible gifts this past holiday season? What did you make?
Photography by Chris Miller
Caitlin
this sounds spectacular! i love giving edible presents at christmas time. it really is my favorite. i'm sure this granola looked absolutely stunning in a jar, with pink ribbon, and the recipe attached <3
keepinitkind
Thank you, Caitlin! I'm a big fan of giving edible gifts too- I am the WORST gift shopper! 🙂
Kat
Wow, this granola sounds soooo good! I've been making granola with cacao powder ever since I found this recipe http://veggienook.com/2012/04/08/chocolate-cherry-almond-granola/ by Gabby. Yours sounds just as delicious and I will certainly give it a shot.
I really enjoy giving non-store-purchased presents to friends and family. I have done bags of cookies with nice bows, but a little jar of granola is such a neat idea! Totally love it!
Sorry about your laptop, unfortunately been there, done that, REALLY a sucky situation 🙁 Since that incident I am mega-careful with liquid around my laptop...
keepinitkind
Thank you, Kat! I love Gabby's recipes, so I'm sure that one is a winner!
This year I did cookie boxes and granola- it's a lot of work, but it's so much better than buying weird gifts I think someone might like. 🙂
Janie Kaiser
I have always been intimidated by homemade granola, but now I think i've been convinced to give it a try.. 🙂
keepinitkind
Don't be intimidated, Janie- it's so easy! I hope you like it! 🙂
jodye @ chocolate and chou fleur
This granola sounds just wonderful. I love making new variations, and I'm never one to pass up chocolate. I would be temped to throw some chocolate chips in at the end and let them melt into the granola a bit. I think chocolate and cherries go so well together. Once my current batch runs out, I'll definitely be trying this!
keepinitkind
Thanks, Jodye! I was very tempted to throw chocolate chips in, or cacao nibs, but decided to keep it simple. 🙂 I hope you like it!
CJ at Food Stories
Oh, wow, what a food story ... I have had things like that happen to me so many times 🙂
keepinitkind
Haha- I'm glad to know I'm not the only one! 🙂
Richa`
ahh sucks about the laptop.. i am always scared about stuff happening to mine:)
this granola rocks... need you say more.. black forest!
hand written notes are super cute too:))
keepinitkind
Thanks, Richa. It seems to be pretty much ok except for the track pad. I've adjusted the settings so I only have to tap it to click, but for cropping pictures and dragging things, I have to use a separate trackpad. Chris says he can fix it, but he needs about 2 hours. We haven't been able to coordinate our schedules to fit that in yet. 😉
I thought about doing hand-written notes, but I would've had to do about 10 separate recipes, and I had a crap-load of things to cook to take out of town with us, so I didn't have time. ;-/ Next year- we're staying home and gifts will be mailed! 🙂
Leslie
New to GF. Where do you find puffed millet and puffed kamut? I have used regular millet to replace cous cous, but have not even heard of kamut? If unable to find in my area, what would be suitably substitutions? Recipe looks delicious.
keepinitkind
Thank you! Puffed kamut and millet should be easy to find at your whole foods or health food store. If you can't find them, you can find the puffed kamut here and the puffed millet here. Good luck!
Bobbie {the vegan crew}
How frustrating about the laptop and then not being able to do the cute little recipe cards! I feel your pain...but cute recipe card or no cute recipe card, I'm sure it tasted fantastic 🙂 I love the flavor profiles in the granola. I've never made my own before, but I'm very tempted to give it a try now. Thanks for sharing!
keepinitkind
Thank you, Bobbie! With as clumsy as I am, I'm surprised I haven't done something like this before. 🙂 Luckily, my computer is still pretty much operational.
Making granola is so easy, and once you start, you'll never buy it again! Have fun with it! 🙂
Heather
Ah, how many times have I, too, ALMOST put Martha Stewart to shame... I love this post Kristy, you are the best. 🙂 Will be making up a batch of this for my boys, they'll love it!
keepinitkind
Heather, I know for a fact that you put Martha Stewart to shame on a regular basis- you are just so incredibly talented and crafty! I hope Mo and Titus enjoy it! 🙂
Bex @ Vegan Sparkles
Ohhh, you are the best friend EVER!! I'm sure the ribbons and packages looked adorable and were loved by all, even without poor, drowned computer's input. I still have your carrot cake granola bookmarked to try and will add this to the list - it sounds and looks incredible!
keepinitkind
Thank you, Bex! If only we lived closer- I would have stopped by to drop one of for you! 🙂
Gabby @ the veggie nook
Oh Kristy, I think we have more in common every time you post. This is exactly what happened to me this Christmas! I had a bunch of homemade gifts ready to go when a computer failure (involving spilled liquids) prevented me from giving out recipes to go with them. I totally and completely feel your pain.
While this might not be the exact recipe, I am sure it is just as delicious! Chocolate and cherries in a granola is n amazing combo 🙂
keepinitkind
Thank you, Gabby. I am so happy to know that I'm not the only one who does crazy crap like that. 😉
heather
I think I would have had a breakdown if I had done that on Christmas Eve - but at least you didn't burn the granola and still had that to give , which by the way looks AMAZING!!! I have been on a major homemade granola kick , I am going to have to add this into the rotation!
keepinitkind
Thanks, Heather! I came very close to having a breakdown. I think I probably would've if Chris hadn't been laughing at the whole thing. He's very good at reminding me to chill out and laugh at things. 🙂
Cadry
You always make the most tempting granola! I feel your pain on the computer issue. It is a frustration for sure when you get to the final step in a project and then chaos happens. I hope a few handfuls of that sweet granola salved the irritation! 🙂 And I'm glad that the computer issue wasn't too damaging.
keepinitkind
Thanks, Cadry. It was a good test for me and a sign that I needed to just chill out. I'm thankful for it now, even though my trackpad needs to be repaired. 🙂