Granola Bars

I finally succeeded in making a yummy granola bar! I've been playing with different ingredients and found some that I like. I started with a recipe from here and added some stuff and took some out. This one I made for a snack to munch on during the day. They say to use steel cut oats for granola bars so they will hold together better. I have been unable to find any in local grocery stores, maybe because I'm blind and am just missing them. For these I used rolled oats, but got the quick cooking kind because they are smaller. It held together ok, but I am going to try to hunt down some of the steel-cut variety. The beauty of this recipe is that you can use it to make the bars OR the cereal. I was excited by this because I LOVE granola, but it is expensive so I never buy it. I don't know why it is so pricey. The ingredients are not expensive. Enough with my rambling and on with the recipe!

3 1/2 c rolled oats
1 c sliced almonds
1 c peanuts
1 c unsweetened coconut
1/2 c sunflower seeds
1/2 flax seeds
1 bag chocolate chips (the darker chocolate is better, but any will do)
6 T butter
1/2 c honey
2 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 250 and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix oats almonds, peanuts, coconut, and seeds in a large mixing bowl. Heat the butter and honey together in a small sauceoan over low heat. Once the butter melts, stir in the vanilla. Pour the hot liquid over the dry ingredients and stir until evenly coated. Spread mixture onto prepared pan in one even layer. Bake for 1 hour 15 min. It will become crisp as it cools. You can break into large pieces for bars or smash it in a ziploc bag for cereal.

The recipe is so versatile you can really put whatever you want in it. I've heard you can put a little oat flour in it to help it stick together if you want bars. I'm going to try it with raisins and cinnamon and other dried fruits that I come across. The flax seeds are an added bonus, too. They are rich in health promoting fatty acids. And there is no coconut flavor from the coconut if you are not a coconut fan.

What do you like in your granola?