Roasted Hazelnut-Almond Granola Clusters with Homemade Hazelnut Almond Butter

1. For the Roasted-Hazelnut Almond Butter: Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Spread the hazelnuts over a small baking sheet and the almonds over another small baking sheet. Put both in the oven and roast for 12 to 14 minutes, until the hazelnut skins have darkened, cracked, and are almost falling off. Let the nuts cool on the sheet for 5 minutes or so. Transfer the hazelnuts to a damp dishcloth and rub vigorously until most of the skins fall off. The goal is to remove most of them, but a few stragglers are okay!
2. Transfer the almonds and skinned hazelnuts to a heavy-duty food processor and process until a smooth butter forms, 5 to 10 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl as necessary.
3. With the processor running, slowly add the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt to taste through the feed tube.
4. Store the nut butter in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month.
5. For the granola: Spread the hazelnuts over a small baking sheet and the almonds over another small baking sheet. Put both in the oven and roast for 12 to 14 minutes at 300°F, until the hazelnut skins have darkened, cracked, and are almost falling off. Let the nuts cool on the sheet for 5 minutes or so. Transfer the hazelnuts to a damp dishcloth and rub vigorously until most of the skins fall off. The goal is to remove most of them, but a few stragglers are okay! Chop the hazelnuts and almonds and set aside.
6. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and keep the oven set to 300°F.
7. In a large bowl, stir together the chopped hazelnuts and almonds, oats, shredded coconut, chocolate chips, cherries, chia seeds, and salt.
8. In a small pot, melt the coconut oil over low heat. Transfer it to a small bowl and whisk in the brown rice syrup, hazelnut-almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla until smooth. (For this recipe we don’t want the wet mixture to become warm and melt the chocolate chips while mixing.)
9. With a spatula, scoop the wet mixture on top of the dry mixture, being sure to get every last drop. Stir well until thoroughly combined.
10. Scoop the granola mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it out into a thin layer, no more than 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thickness. Try to space out the granola as much as possible so it has room to “breathe” while cooking.
11. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for 8 to 12 minutes more, until the bottom and edges of the granola are just starting to turn golden (the granola itself will still look a bit pale in color). The granola will get crispy as it cools.
12. Let the granola cool completely on the baking sheet, then break it apart into clusters. It will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 weeks or in a large zip-top freezer bag in the freezer for a couple of months. Be sure to press all the air out before freezing (or use a straw to suck out all the air from the bag.)

Reprinted from Oh She Glows Every Day by arrangement with Avery, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2016, Angela Liddon.