Sour cherries meet chunks of dark chocolate, easy homemade shortbread cookies and cacao granola. This cherry and shortbread chocolate chunk granola is definitely what childhood breakfast dreams would have desired!
When I was small and even during Highschool my mother would make us breakfast every day. But she wanted us to start the day with a proper, nutritious meal, hence she mostly made porridge with berries or Bircher muesli.
Of course, every now and then we children would convince her to buy one of those „special“ cereals. She probably was not particularly happy, but would allow us to have them. Beside the cacao crunch flakes, my favorite of those mueslis was a cacao one with freeze dried cherries, shortbread cookie pieces and dark chocolate flakes.
Nowadays I rarely see this granola in supermarket shelves. But when I recently walked pass some boxes filled with it, I remembered how much I loved it. And so I decided to make my own version of it. I have to admit, it does not exactly taste like it did. back then. But that probably has to do with mine not containing any „natural flavors“. Maybe I like this version even better. It’s less sweet, yet packed with delicious flavors and different textures. Crunchy, chewy, chocolatey- what more could you dream of?
About this cherry and shortbread chocolate chunk granola
The base is pretty much the same as I prepare most of my homemade chocolate granolas: oats, dates, nut butter and cacao powder. The only step that makes this granola a little more time consuming is by adding homemade shortbread cookies. However, these are also quite easy to make- you just have to mix nut Butter (or vegan butter) with maple syrup, lemon zest, a little vanilla and flour until it forms a batter. Then press it into a prepared brownie tin or casserole and bake it together with the granola base for 15 minutes until golden. Cut it into square shaped pieces and they are ready!
The final step is mixing together the base with freeze dried cherries, chocolate chunks, the base and some of the shortbread cookies. Childhood dreams in breakfast form.
Just a few things I quickly want to mention:
- you can use a gluten free flour mix for the shortbread
- using vegan butter for the shortbread will result in a finer cookie
- I would recommend you to use freeze dried cherries! But if they are not available for you or too expensive, just opt for regular dried ones!
Okay, I think we are ready to bake now. I hope you enjoy my cherry and shortbread chocolate chunk granola recipe!
ALL THE BEST
cherry and shortbread chocolate chunk granola
Ingredients
shortbread cookies
- 60 ml maple syrup
- 60 g cashew butter or vegan butter *
- 160 g flour **
- 1/4 Tsp vanilla (or 1 Tsp vanilla extract)
- 1/4 Tsp lemon zest from an organic lemon
basic cacao granola
- 250 g rolled oats
- 2 Tbsp (30g) Tahini ***
- 100 g dates already pitted and soaked in warm water for 10 minutes
- pinch of salt
- 2 Tbsp (20g) cacao powder
- 1/3 Cup+ 2 Tbsp water
other ingredients
- 60 g dried or freeze dried cherries ****
- 50 g dark chocolate chopped into chunks
Instructions
- Start with preheating the oven to 200C and preparing a baking/ brownie tin by lining it with some parchment paper and/or greasing it with a little oil or vegan butter.
- To make the shortbread combine the nut/seed butter or vegan butter with the maple syrup and mix until creamy and well combined using a hend held mixer. Sift in the flour, add the lemon zest and vanilla and mix again to form a smooth dough. Press the dough into the form and draw a grit with a knife onto the surface (about 2*1 long squares). This will help later to cut the shortbread and prevent it from breaking too much once it is already baked. Set the tin aside.
- To make the granola base, drain the dates and blend together with the nut butter and water until smooth.
- Add the oats, cacao powder and pinch of salt to a large mixing bowl and combine with the mixture from the blender. Spread out onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake the granola and shortbread for around 20 minutes. You need to stir through the granola every once in a while to prevent it from burning and check if the shortbread is not too golden.
- Once baked, slice the shortbread immediately and then let cool. The granola base must be cooled completely too, otherwise it will not remain its crunchiness.
- To finish the granola, add the cherries, around 3/4 (150g) of the shortbread cookies and the chocolate chunks to the chilled granola and mix. Store in an airtight container. Do the same with the leftover shortbread cookies and eat them by the handful or enjoy as topping for yogurts or smoothies/ smoothie bowls. Enjoy!
