S’mores are turned into a tasty everyday snack in this recipe featuring crunchy oats covered with toasted marshmallows, chocolate and graham cracker pieces.
Because oats surrounded by graham crackers, chocolate chips and toasty marshmallows are healthy, right? Well, if you ask me, there are certainly worse after-school snacks than these S’mores Granola Clusters. (Says the girl who’s not even in school, nor has any children that are in school, but hey, we all need delicious, chocolatey, gooey clusters in our lives every now and again.)
My idea for this recipe certainly evolved and changed as I started to think of the logistics of it all. You see, my first idea was to make a straight up s’mores granola, but then I realized that with both the chocolate and marshmallows highly subject to melting, making a classic granola would be a little difficult unless I could find mini graham crackers, chocolate chips and marshmallows that I could just add to the oats after toasting them. But where’s the fun in that?
So I decided to embrace the melting qualities of the ingredients that make s’mores so delicious, and turn the recipe into granola clusters instead. And, um, take the S’mores Granola Clusters away from me now because I can’t stop reaching into the Ziploc for me. Hellllppp!
But really, don’t, because I want to eat S’mores Granola Clusters for ever and ever and ever. Summer, winter, fall, spring, doesn’t matter. We don’t need no outdoor fire pit for these beauts!
I may or may not have already made second or third batches to share with everyone I know since school started last week, and did I mention they’re the perfect after-school snack? They also just so happen to be the perfect beach-going snack, the perfect “semi-healthy” dessert, and the perfect “it’s 11:00am and I’m starving but it’s too early for lunch yet” snack (please tell me that happens to other people besides just me?)
But before I get into how we make these addicting S’mores Granola Clusters (because it really won’t take long), tell me, how was your weekend? Did you do anything fun? Go anywhere exciting? I’m trying to forget the fact that we were supposed to be in Yosemite for our annual trip this weekend, so please let me live vicariously through you and all your fun adventures! I’m soooo looking forward to when the hubs is healed and we can pick up our weekend warrior tendencies once again. So many things to do and places to see!
Okay, getting back to the S’mores Granola Clusters. Really, the hardest part about this recipe is mixing up the toasted oat mixture, and even that is so easy! I riffed off of my favorite granola recipe to make a slightly less sweet version of toasted oats (I figured they’d get enough sweetness from the chocolate and marshmallows) and of course I left out nuts so that my nut-free friends can enjoy this recipe as well.
We toss together the toasted oat mixture and pop it in the oven for a good 30 minutes, stirring once to make sure all of our oats get an even toast.
Then, for the last 15 minutes, we toss in the graham cracker pieces, marshmallows and chocolate chips. Because we just can’t call anything a “s’more” without some golden, toasted marshmallows, we turn the broiler on high for just the last couple of minutes. Trust me, don’t skip this step. Even though we end up mixing up the granola to make the clusters, you’ll definitely notice that delicious nutty flavor that only comes from marshmallows experiencing that close call with a direct source of heat.
That’s it! I couldn’t resist eating some of the clusters while they were still warm (s’mores flavor to the max!) but they maintain their perfectly toasted, sweet, salty flavor even after the clusters have cooled. Trust me, you can enjoy these S’mores Granola Clusters up to 3-4 days later if you keep them in a resealable plastic bag or Tupperware container. But you know what, I don’t think they’ll last that long 😉
S’mores Granola Clusters
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 4 ounces unsweetened applesauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup honey
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup graham cracker pieces 4 full sheets
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 310 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients (oats through sea salt.) Spread oat mixture on a large jelly roll pan and place in oven. Set the timer for 20 minutes.
- At the 20 minute mark, open the oven and gently stir the oats. This will help ensure they get evenly toasted. Set the timer for 10 more minutes.
- Once the timer goes off, remove the pan from the oven (keeping the oven at 310 degrees) and sprinkle the chocolate chips, graham cracker pieces and mini marshmallows evenly over the oats. Return the pan to the oven and set the timer for 2 ½ minutes.
- After 2 ½ minutes, turn the oven’s broiler on high and set another 2 ½ minutes on the timer. Once timer goes off this final time, remove pan from the oven. Immediately stir up the granola so that clusters form.
- Once cool, if there are any extra-large clusters, feel free to break them up into smaller pieces. Store for 3-4 days in a resealable plastic bag or Tupperware.
Notes
- Enjoy these addicting clusters for up to 3-4 days if kept in a resealable plastic bag or Tupperware container.
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
If you need me at all today, I’ll be right here in front of this bowl…
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