Hope you all had a nice Valentine’s Day! Jim and I made Italian beef sandwiches and watched Valentine’s Day the movie. Thankfully the sandwiches were great because the movie was terrible! We still had a fun time hanging out together, though.
Recently I ran out of exfoliator and had to replenish the supply. I thought I’d try out the St. Ives Coffee Coconut, and it smelled so good when I put it on that I seriously wanted to eat it. It reminded me of Hawaii and I knew I’d need to make something coffee and coconut flavored immediately. Not sure which recipe would absorb my newest obsession, but I kept it in mind over the next few days.
For Valentine’s Day, I sent my mom Russian teacakes and chocolate-covered raspberry marshmallows, and then she gently reminded me that I forgot to send her granola for her yogurt. And then it clicked! The vehicle for my coffee coconut extravaganza revealed itself. Well, the first of many, I hope. I’m thinking a cookie will be next…
I could eat this crunchy granola all by itself. In fact, I do while I prepare my breakfast. I think it would be great as a homemade cereal but I didn’t make enough to pour a whole cup in a bowl! Too precious!
I like to top my Noosa yogurt with this granola and a handful of blueberries! I also just eat it by the spoonful. This recipe calls for almonds, but you can also use macadamia nuts for a full Hawaiian treat!
The key is making sure it is dried after baking. The butter adds a lot of moisture, and sometimes more is needed to fully coat the oats. If you don’t bake off all of the water, the granola might taste a bit stale after a day! The granola needs to bake long enough that the water in the butter evaporates. That will give a nice crunch to the granola.
Hawaiian Granola
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp Salted butter melted
- 2 cups Dried rolled oats uncooked
- 6½ tbsp Brown sugar packed
- 1 tbsp Instant coffee powder heaping
- ¾ tsp Coconut extract
- ½ cup Sliced raw almonds
- ½ cup Unsweetened coconut chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
- Melt butter in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Once melted, add all other ingredients, stirring to coat oats completely.
- Spread oats onto a parchment lined jelly roll pan. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring half way.
- Lower the oven temperature to 300°F / 150°C and continue baking an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and allow to cool, about 30 minutes. Clusters will form once cooled.