Granola Bars

These were a hit at our ward's Break-the-fast yesterday, so I decided to type out my own recipe and variations. Here it is . . .

Amazing Granola Bar Recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups oats
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup peanuts (crushed)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
4 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup dried fruit

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
Crush peanuts in a plastic baggy to avoid a mess.
Mix the peanuts, oats, and sunflower seeds in a baking dish. Toast for 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes so that they don’t get burned. (That's all for the oven!)
Meanwhile, prepare a glass baking dish (9x9 makes them thicker than an 11x13) by lining it with waxed paper and lightly spray with a nonstick spray.
Put the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.
Mix everything together in a large bowl. The grains, the liquid, and the dried fruit. Make sure everything gets coated, then dump into wax-lined baking dish.
Spread out the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Now fold over the sides of the waxed paper or add a sheet on top. Press hard and compact so they wont crumble later when you're done.
Wait 2-3 hours or until the granola has totally cooled. (I popped mine in the refrigerator)
Open the waxed paper and take them out. Cut to whatever size you want.

Variations:
If there are nut allergies, try and get creative, try adding wheat bulgar, crumbled pretzels or maybe rice crispier cereal.
Disguise them from kids by adding chocolate chips (¼ to ½ a cup).
Get creative with you fruit and nut combo. Like macadamia nuts, dried pineapple, and coconut. Or cranberries, walnuts, and white chocolate chips.
For extra nutrition add flax seed or wheat germ.
Try adding different flavors, I'm going to add peanut butter next time!

Enjoy!


P.S. If you try it, or any variation of it, let me know how it turned out. This is a very flexible recipe. I'll post pictures next time I make it.