Tart Cherry and Chocolate Crunch

MAKES 10 CUPS • PREP TIME: 10 minutes • COOK TIME: 30 minutes

This is so good, it might leave you speechless. I mean, what’s not to love? Almonds, pecans, walnuts, dark chocolate chips, dark cherry, coconut . . . are you dizzy yet? I’m not trying to brag, but when we gave a friend of ours some of this granola, he took one bite and asked, “Will it travel?” When we said “Yes,” he said, “Good . . . I’m taking it to Honduras with me!” I hope the customs folks there don’t ask for a nibble. We put some into a jar on the top shelf of my kitchen to see how long it would hold up; turns out it held up longer than we did. We got to a week before we devoured it all. And believe me, that was after employing a lot of willpower.

1/2 cup Grade A Dark Amber maple syrup
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup dried tart cherries

Preheat over to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, orange zest, coconut oil, salt, and vanilla. Pulse the almonds, pecans, and walnuts together in the bowl of a food processor until the pieces are the size of raisins. Add the nuts, oats, chocolate chips, coconut, and cherries to the bowl and mix until everything is well coated.

Spoon the mixture onto the baking sheet and, with wet hands or a small piece of parchment paper, spread and press it into an even layer about 1/4 inch thick, filling the baking sheet. Tuck in any loose pieces on the edges.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Start checking at 20 minutes and turn the sheet if necessary. Allow to cool completely before breaking into pieces.

Reprinted with permission from The Healthy Mind Cookbook Copyright © 2015 by Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson, Ten Speed Press, a division of the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, CA.