Recipe: Sticky Fruit & Seed Granola Bars

After ordering a particularly tasty granola bar at Starbucks last week I decided that I could probably recreate something similar at home for less money and fewer calories.  Finding that I still have some leftover brown rice syrup from that batch of Glo Bars I made I knew that was the way to go.

I give you my own personal Sticky Fruit & Seed Granola Bars.

Ingredients:

- 1.5 cups whole oats

- 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots

- 1/4 cup dried cranberries

- 1/4 cup sultana raisins

- 1/4 cup chopped and toasted almonds

- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds

- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

- 1/4 cup hulled hemp seeds

- big sprinkle cinnamon

- 1/2 cup brown rice syrup

- 1 tbsp butter

- 1 tsp real vanilla extract

- huge squirt honey (maybe 3 tbsp?)            

Directions:

- Mix all dry ingredients together (toast almonds in dry pan if necessary) in big bowl.

- Heat syrup, butter, and vanilla in non-stick pot over med-high heat.  Bring to boil, stirring frequently, reduce to simmer for a few minutes.  Don’t let it burn!

- Pour hot syrup mixture over dry mixture.  Add huge squirt of honey.  Stir until all combined.

- Spread into a sprayed and lined 8x8 cake pan.  Press down using sprayed wax paper (this is sticky stuff!!) until firm.  Cover with sprayed wax paper and put in freezer to set.

- Watch 30 minutes of Big Brother, then remove from freezer.  Use the pan liner to lift whole piece from pan.  Cut into 16 pieces. 

- Enjoy!!  Keep refrigerated.  Ooey, gooey, sticky, crumbly goodness.  :)