Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Granola Bark
Creamy dark chocolate beneath crunchy clusters of pumpkin spice granola and cinnamon roasted cashews.
Ingredients
- 1 16oz bag Enjoy Life Semi Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips or chocolate of choice
- 1 tbsp refined coconut oil not virgin
- 1.5 cups pumpkin spice granola or flavor of choice
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted cashews I use cinnamon cashews from Karma Nuts
- 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- flakey sea salt I use Maldon Sea Salt
Instructions
Prep
- Lay out a cookie sheet lined with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper so that it's ready to go when the chocolate is hot and melted. Then roughly chop the cashews and set aside.
Melt the chocolate
- Combine the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave safe dish and heat for 10 seconds. Stir and repeat one more time, then stir vigorously until smooth. You may want to heat once more if necessary but the trick is to stir the chocolate until it’s smooth instead of expecting it to be completely melted in the microwave (this could cause the chocolate to overheat) Once smooth and creamy, drizzle all but 2-3 tbsp of the melted chocolate onto the lined cookie sheet and smooth into an even rectangle (not all the way to the edges) About 1/4 in. or thicker is good.
Decorate
- While the chocolate is still warm, add the remaining toppings: granola, chopped cashews, pumpkin pie spice and a light sprinkle of flakey sea salt (I often add sprinkles at this point too!) Gently press the toppings down so that they stick and drizzle with the remaining chocolate in a zig zag pattern on top. Jackson Pollock it up! (This helps the toppings stay in place)
Set
- Freeze for 10 minutes or until set, then break into pieces and enjoy! Store leftovers in the fridge or freezer (I prefer the freezer because cold chocolate delicious!)
Notes
You can use any flavor granola you like and swap the pumpkin spice seasoning for cinnamon or omit it if desired.
If you don't have cinnamon roasted cashews, use whatever roasted nuts you have and enjoy. Fun flavors like maple almonds or candied pecans work well too.
Fancy Sprinkles makes my favorite vegan sprinkles! These are cute for a variety o occasions.
The coconut oil is important in this recipe. Here's two things to keep in mind.
- The tablespoon of oil added offers creaminess to the finished product while also inuring that the chocolate sets and has a nice snap to it. Chocolate usually needs to be tempered to snap properly, but this is a great shortcut that has the same great texture as tempered chocolate without the work. As long as the chocolate is cold/cold-ish, it will stay nice and firm while maintaining its creaminess.
- Make sure the coconut oil is refined, not virgin or else it will impart a strong coconut flavor. Refined coconut oil is neutral tasting.