Pistachio Cherry Chocolate Crunch Grawnola

The gentle nuttiness of the pistachio paired with the sweet tartness of the cherries are a perfect combination to the deep richness of the chocolate. The olive oil is a nice touch to add healthy fats without changing too much the previous flavors. While I generally use coconut oil in my grawnolas I wanted to switch it up as I truly do love the taste of a nice olive oil. And for this kind of recipe I really believe one should use high quality organic olive oil. This is my first time making this granola and I can say with confidence that it won’t be the last! Since all of these ingredients are not necessarily seasonal like my butternut granola or my orange cranberry one, I can make and enjoy this granola all year round! This is taking a high spot in my top favorites 🙂 Ingredients:

• 5 cups sprouted buckwheat or soaked for at least 8 hours and rinsed really well
• 1 cup small oats
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1 cup organic olive oil (high quality is best here!)
• 1 cup dried cherries (no sugar added)
• 1 cup raw pistachios
• 1 cup quinoa crispies (omit this if you want a truly raw granola, you can add buckwheat groats or oats if you like)
• 3/4 cups homemade chocolate chunks or chocolate chips

Steps:

• mix first 3 ingredients in a large bowl until well combined
• add following 3 ingredients to a food processor and pule until the cherries and pistachios are broken down a bit but not fully blended
• combine all ingredients except chocolate and mix well adding the crisps last
• put on a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for about 10-12 hours at 105*F
• add the chocolate once the granola is done and mix well
• enjoy with milk of your choice, mine is often home made fresh almond milk
• store in airtight glass containers for weeks!

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Pistachio Delight and Nutella Divine

It’s February, the month of LOVE. Although love happens all year round, I don’t mind jumping on the happy train at various scheduled celebrations. So I came up with these, because Love inspired me to. There are two recipes here, but since I created them in the same day and photographed them together, you get them in one post. These little balls are quite a burst of flavor. I am especially happy with the Pistachio Delight as they are a new flavor creation of mine and I am super happy to share it with you. The Nutella Divine is just as the name suggests. Delicious of course as it has chocolate in it. The longest part of these recipes is rolling the balls, so if you want to minimize your active working time, I will offer an alternative at the end of the post.  

Ingredients for the Pistachio Delight:

• 1 cup cashews
• 1/2 coconut butter
• 1/4 cup lucuma powder
• 4 medjool dates
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios

Steps:

• in a food processor blend all ingredients for a few minutes. It will take a little bit for the oils to releases and start binding together. When that starts, add the pistachios and finish blending until a somewhat ball is formed.
• the “dough” will be somewhat crumbly which is fine
• using a teaspoon, scoop out a bit of dough and press it in ball shape in between your fingers before rolling it in to a ball in between your palms
• place on a plate and set in fridge while making the coating

Cacao Coconut Coating:

• 1/8 cup melted cacao butter
• 1 TBS maple syrup
• 1/8 cup finely ground coconut shreds (I used a coffee grinder)
• combine everything in a bowl and mix well

Roll balls in coating and return to fridge to set. Makes about 35 small balls. Store in fridge.

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Ingredients for Nutella Divine:

• 1/2 cup raw hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 10 medjool dates
• 1/2 tsp hazelnut extract (optional)
• 1/4 cup + 2 TBS hazelnut butter
• 1/4 cup cacao powder
• 1/8 tsp salt

Steps:

• put everything in food processor and blend until a dough is formed.
• the “dough” will be somewhat crumbly which is fine
• using a teaspoon, scoop out a bit of dough and press it in ball shape in between your fingers before rolling it in to a ball in between your palms
• place on a plate and set in fridge while making the coating

Pink Coating:

• 1/8 cup cacao butter
• 1 TBS maple syrup
• 1 TBS beet juice

Roll balls in coating and set in fridge to set. Store balls in fridge. In the picture I also rolled some of the Pistachio Delight balls in the pink coating. Play around and spread the LOVE!!! Note: to save active working time you can press the mixture very firmly in a pan lined with parchment paper. Set it in the fridge or freezer to set for about 30 minutes (maybe a bit more if in the fridge?), then take out of pan and cut into squares. Proceed with dipping in coating all the same. Although these treats are amazing without the coating as well.