Granola Bars

*Adapted from King Arthur Flour Chewy Granola Bars Recipe

Dry Ingredients

1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed  until finely ground in a food processor or blender)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts

Wet Ingredients

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
6 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup honey and/or 100% pure maple syrup (I like to use a mixture; agave syrup would be good too)
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup peanut butter or another nut butter (optional)
 

*I think 1/4-1/2 cup of sugar is perfect, but if you prefer them sweeter or less sweet, feel free to adjust the recipe. The original recipe called for over 1 cup of sugar!  Part of this was something called "Sticky Bun Sugar" which I substituted by adjusting their suggestion of sugar, corn syrup and butter.

*The original recipe did not call for almond extract, but I included it because it sounded like a yummy addition and it just smells so good! Have you smelled almond extract lately?

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Line a 13"x9"x2" pan (for thin bars) or an 8″x8″x2″ pan (for thick bars, which is my preference) with parchment paper. Lightly grease the parchment paper with butter or oil, or with a non-stick spray (although I sometimes skip this step and have no problems with sticking).
3. Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts in a large bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, melt the butter in the microwave; add the vanilla, almond extract, liquid sweeteners, corn syrup, water, nut butter (if using) to the melted butter and stir until combined.  
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is evenly crumbly.
6. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan, pressing firmly (this is important, because if you do not press firmly, the granola will be crumbly and fall apart). The best way is to press it in firmly with your hands. If you don't want to get your hands dirty, you may cover the granola with plastic wrap and then press.
7. Bake the bars for 30 to 35 minutes  for an 8"x8"x2" pan or 25 to 30 minutes for a 13"x9"x2" pan, until they are brown around the edges.
8. Cool the granola completely in the pan on a cooling rack. Lift the granola out of the pan by lifting out the parchment paper. I usually just place the parchment paper and all on a cake plate and cover with the lid and cut pieces off as needed. feel free to cut into bars if desired.

After a few days I move them to the refrigerator because they will keep a little longer that way. They also freeze well.

Dried fruit and nuts suggestions: Dried cranberries, apricots, cherries, raisins, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, coconut, walnuts, sesame seeds, dried apples, chocolate chips.
 

Addendums:

First batch: 1/3 cup dried cherries, 1/3 cup dried chopped figs, 1/3 cup fig/cherry mixture, 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/3 cup golden raisins, 1/3 cup sliced almonds, 1/3 cup chopped pecans, 1/4 cup chia seeds. Yum.

 
Second batch: for the 1/4 cup sweetener I used 1Tbsp honey and for the remainder maple syrup); used 1 cup pecans, 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips, and 2/3 cup chocolate chips.
These now really have no business being called granola bars - they are more like chocolate chip pecan oatmeal bars. Yum, but they are very sweet from the chocolate chips, so next time I will lower the sugar to 1/4 cup and omit the mini chips and just use 2/3 cup of choc chips.

Third batch: used slightly less than 1/4 cup liquid sweeteners, 1c up pecans, 2/3 cup chocolate chips, omitted almond extract. Yummy, but still quite sweet. Maybe next time I will cut out the honey roasted peanut butter!

Fourth batch: 2/3 cup macadamia nuts, 1/3 cup toasted coconut flakes, 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips, 1/3 cup dried pineapple pieces, no nut butter. This is Jon's favorite batch yet!