Toasted Coconut Chips

Have you beautiful people ever tried Dang Coconut Chips? They are out of control amazing coconut chips - perfectly crisp and crunchy, and just sweet enough. We brought some on our last camping trip to Smith Rock State Park, and devoured them as a snack straight from the bag and sprinkled over our morning oatmeal. Pure heaven! 

I'll definitely still be buying Dang as a treat, but I've been working on re-creating something just as satisfying at home. I think to truly recreate the thicker slices of coconut in Dang chips, fresh coconut would be required. This version, however, uses the coconut flakes that you can easily find inexpensively at your grocery store making this a super affordable alternative to those addicting Dang chips. This recipe is also SO incredibly easy, and makes a delicious snack or topping for all sorts of things - like ice cream, oatmeal, yogurt, smoothie bowls - the list goes on! 

But lets be honest... every time I've made these I end up eating more than half of them straight from their container. Handful by handful : ) And no one's judging if you do the exact same! 

Also, in case you missed my reference to ice cream before, I'm just going to reiterate it for you here. Because ice cream is pretty darn important. Chocolate ice cream (this is actually Talenti fudge brownie gelato... takin' it to the next level!) + toasted coconut chips = HEAVEN! 

Maybe someday I'll try what I think would be a more authentic version made from fresh coconut, but for now - this is the easiest and most affordable way to get my coconut snack on! 

Toasted Coconut Chips 

4 cups unsweetened coconut flakes 

1/4 cup maple syrup

a few pinches of sea salt 

• In a medium bowl, drizzle maple syrup over coconut flakes. Sprinkle with salt. Gently stir to coat the coconut flakes evenly with the syrup without breaking too many of those nice big flakes. 
• Spread coconut evenly over a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat. 
• Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, until the coconut is lightly browned and starting to crisp. You'll want to stir it every 5 minutes or so for the entire baking time. 
• Let coconut cool completely, then store in an airtight container. 

ginger nutty granola clusters

Granola is my go to breakfast when we have it in the cupboard (and my babe's go to as well!) so I try to bake my own on a regular basis. It's generally cheaper, lower in sugar, and more delicious this way! So now that the weather is cooling, I can't help but pop a tray in the oven whenever we're running low. 

Now, the serious specialness about this granola recipe in particular... the major clumping! I've been working on making clumpy granola for quite some time and I've finally mastered it with this recipe! There is really nothing quite as awesome as chowing down on giant clusters of mapley oaty goodness. This granola comes out of the oven in one large chunk, easily broken into whatever size best suits your cravings. Easy peasy! 

So! What are you waiting for? It's time to get some seriously awesome homemade granola clusters in your oven! Within an hour, you'll be big time snacking on these delicious treats! 

ingredients: 

3 cups thick rolled oats 

1/4 cup flour (whole wheat or all purpose) 

1 cup hazelnuts (or other nuts!), coarsely chopped 

1/2 cup maple syrup 

1/4 cup vegetable oil 

2 tsp vanilla 

1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger 

instructions: 

• Combine oats, hazelnuts, and flour in a large bowl, and stir until evenly combined. 
• Add syrup, oil, vanilla, and ginger and stir again until the liquid is evenly distributed throughout the oats and nuts 
• Cover a baking sheet (or two, depending on the size you use) with parchment or a silicone baking sheet. Spread granola mixture onto baking sheet and flatten with your spatula into a tightly packed layer, about 1/2 inch thick. 
• Bake at 300 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the granola is lightly browned. 
• Let the granola cool in the pan completely, then gently lift the granola off the pan and break into pieces. It should be a (mostly!) solid piece in the pan so you can break the chunks off in whatever size you please! 
• Store in an airtight container.