Chocolate snack? Healthy chocolate snack? Easy to make healthy chocolate snack?? I give you chocolat

I am a snacker! (Also, on a side note I just learned the phrase "I'm a snack" which is all that will be stuck in my head as I write this post.) But back to edible snacks! If you are also a snacker and looking for something a little bit healthier to chow down on this one is for you!This recipe is pretty easy, and also not too time consuming. So as always, grab your drink (I went with a nice rose while making this one) and lets get to it, for this delicious treat you are going to need:

1/3 Cup of brown sugar (I don't think it matters if you use dark or light, but I used the light variety)

1/4 Cup of maple syrup (Sweet Jesus this stuff is expensive! I literally just bought the cheapest variety that didn't come in a squeeze bottle and still spent like 7 bucks, so maybe take a trip to Cracker Barrel before you make this and get ALL THE TINY SYRUP BOTTLES!!)

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (As per usual, all I had was canola oil and it worked out fine. Sunflower oil would also probably be great for this.)

1/2 Teaspoon vanilla extract (Get the good stuff here guys, we've been over this! The imitation just isn't the same.)

3/4 Teaspoon kosher salt (As we have discussed before this is not the same as table or fine salt and should really be a staple in your kitchen!)

Cayenne to taste (While you don't need much please don't leave this ingredient out.)

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

2 Cups of oats (rolled, steel cut, original it's your choice of textures, I went with original.)

3/4 Cup of chopped almonds (The only almonds I had were dry roasted and salted so I gave them a bath first to get rid of all the salt and then chopped them myself.)

In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients except the oats and almonds. I started this with a whisk but a spatula really works best here. Once everything is combined your mixture should look just like a really thick brownie batter.

And you can totally taste it, because it was delicious! Once you get to this stage you can add in your oats and almonds.

I'm adding this picture so you can see roughly about the size I chopped my almonds, but how large or small you make them is completely up to you. Now you need to mix it all together. Make sure all the oats and almonds are coated in the chocolate mix, you can't over mix this so spend some time making sure everything is coated so it bakes evenly. That should leave you with something that looks like this.

Now all you need to do is pour the mixture onto a lined baking sheet and pop it into a preheated 250 degree oven for about an hour. If you want the granola to be less crunchy you can take that time down to about 45/50 minuets. The recipe did not call for this next step but I think it's a good add, after about thirty minuets take the granola out and give it a good toss with a fork. This will make sure you don't get large clumps baked together. It should still be a bit sticky. Then place it back in the oven, enjoy your drink (Or drinks, no judgments here.) Once the time is up your granola should come out crisp, chocolaty and delicious.

Give it about 15 minutes to cool and then enjoy! Store in an airtight container to add to yogurt, or even just a snack on its own. This is one chocolate treat you don't need to feel so guilty about!