When it comes to breakfast foods, I have to say that I think I WAY overdid it on the yogurt/granola combination in the past. Not that I don’t still like it, but I’m very picky about the kind of yogurt (Greek please) and granola (homemade please) and how often I eat it. Yet another little quirk y’all get to learn about today!
And when it comes to granola I like mine to be clumpy and crunchy, sweet and full of flavor. And FULL of nuts because that’s what makes the world go ’round. (twss)
I’ll be honest though, when I first tried my hand at a holiday-specific granola this is not what I thought of. Originally I was going to do peppermint mocha granola…holy crap, that was a massive kitchen fail if I’ve ever seen one! I had to throw the entire batch away and give myself a break from the granola-making for a couple of weeks. I was down-trodden and sad, unable to make a satisfactory holiday granola. But then inspiration hit and white chocolate hazelnut granola was born!
This is a VERY sweet VERY clumpy VERY flavorful granola, only to be used for those mornings when only a sugar rush will do to tempt you out of bed. Sure, there’s healthy stuff – oats, milled flax, wheat germ, hazelnuts – but the sauce (oh the sauce!) is definitely one that could give granola a bad name.
I don’t care – it tastes like heaven, and in moderation it can be good for you. All about balance people!
Quick survey: does anyone else think it’s hilarious that hazelnuts are called filberts? What a fun name! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want my name to be Filbert…but for a nut it’s pretty fitting…
I don’t even know what that means…moving on!
WHITE CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT GRANOLA
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup milled flax (whole flax would work fine too)
- 1/2 cup wheat germ
- 1 cup crushed hazelnuts (I put mine in a bag and smashed them with a rolling pin)
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup Karo syrup (or whatever healthy alternative you want to use)
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp vanilla
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup white chocolate chips, reserved
Preheat your oven to 275. In a large bowl stir together the oats, flax, wheat germ, and hazelnuts. Set aside. In a saucepan combine the oil, sugar, syrups, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is melted. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir until all combined. Spread onto a sheet pan sprayed with nonstick spray and bake for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes. Watch very closely after 30 minutes to prevent granola from burning. Let cool for about 20 minutes, then stir in the white chocolate…it should still be a little warm so the chips will stick to the granola pieces a bit. Cool completely before storing in an air-tight container. Dried cranberries would be fabulous in here!
See? It’s more of a dessert granola…but since it’s granola and you’re eating it for dessert you can totally have seconds because health food calories don’t count when you eat dessert!
White chocolate and hazelnuts are seriously two of my favorite ingredients. So combined together in a perfectly crunchy, clumpy granola? Yes please!
Too bad peppermint mocha was a fail, that sounds so good! So does WC hazelnut, must try it!!
This is AWESOME.
Granola can be really a treat, huh?
🙂
Yummy breakfast! I love granola.
I only like homemade granola. I don’t know what it is about store bought but it always tastes too sweet and too stale.
This granola, in the jar, looks beautiful. What a wonderful gift it would be,
This is beautiful! I love the idea of white chocolate chips in granola!! Why the heck not!
Aloha!
This looks fantastic! I feel the same way you do about granola–homemade please! It’s actually quite a coincidence because I just posted my favorite granola recipe yesterday 🙂
And yes–I think it’s hilarious that hazelnuts are called filberts! My husband affectionately calls Nutella “Filbert Butter.”
I love granola and have NEVER made my own! It’s about time. Yours look delicious.
I never got why they are called filberts either. It sounds like a man’s name! hehe. This granola would be a great gift!
LC
Calories totally don’t count when it comes to dessert in my book…oops! Looks amazing!!! Love the recipe!
The idea of a peppermint mocha granola intrigues me so much that I want to experiment with it.
Sounds awesome, and looks pretty, too. I heart white chocolate!
hahahah. you are real funny and your lil’ quirky sentences in this post had me laughing. and this granola looks fantastic! i think i need to make it for some holiday gift giving! i like the idea of cranberries in there, too.
HAPPY FLIPPIN FRIDAY, FRIEND!
White chocolate is my crack! I could eat a lot of this, that’s for sure!
This an expected combo, but I’m thinking it could work…
I dismiss granola calories completely. I don’t even know what they mean. This philosophy MORE than counts for your granola, too 🙂
Haha, love your twss.
I love making granola, and I love your random ideas–I wish I could be like that in the kitchen!
What a great combo! I love white chocolate anything!!!
White chocolate ANYTHING is always good with me…and white chocolate granola?! Even better!
Great recipe! I love the combination of flavors.
health food calories never count!
nope, why would they?! haha
OMG I love granola! Totally making this!
I love granola! I have made homemade before but my absolute favorites are both from Whole Foods…the Vanilla Macroon and the Peach Granola…oh my gosh my waters just thinking about them both. I always have them in my pantry…must go grab a handful now! hehe!
vanilla macaroon sounds like a waistline builder…holy yum!
Oh it totally is…but remember you said calories don’t count. I am going with that! 🙂
Oh My! If I only had this for breakfast this morning 😉
That is AWESOME.
I can’t be trusted with homemade granola. I eat way too much while making it… and it goes WAY too quickly…. ha ha
i know, i eat all of it while it’s still warm…bad, bad stomachaches have happened from this…
Wow homemade granola!!! Looks deeelish. I’m not sup prized coming from Colorado and all, I would love to try this this weekend and I’m sure the wife will love it.
Homemade granola? Sold. White Chocolate? In love.