I-15 Granola Bars

These are the best granola bars ever! I named them I-15 Granola Bars because they have 15 ingredients in them. I made these for my son Chris, who always has a Nature Valley Granola Bar on hand for a snack. I think he will like these better than the store-bought brand. I adapted the Barefoot Contessa's recipe by adding flax seeds and other nuts besides almonds plus some wheat bran. You can substitute with other nuts such as hazelnuts, pecans, peanuts, cashews) or substitute other fruits such as chopped dried mango, dates, golden raisins, dried apple, etc. The combinations are limitless! Chris, I hope you like these! :-)

I-15 Granola Bars

2 cups oatmeal (not the quick cooking kind)
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup pistachios
2 T wheat bran
1/4 cup flax seeds
3 T butter
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 and 1/2 t vanilla
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cherries (each cherry cut in half)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare an 8 by 12 baking dish by thoroughly buttering the bottom and sides of the dish then cutting a piece of baking parchment paper to line the dish.

2. Toss oatmeal, nuts, and coconut in a bowl, mix thoroughly and pour onto a baking sheet. Bake for about 12-5 minutes, stirring every 4-5 minutes. Remove when lightly browned. Meanwhile chop the dried fruit and set aside.

3. Reduce heat to 300 F degrees. Pour oat mixture (without the fruit) into large mixing bowl. Add wheat bran and flax seeds and stir thoroughly to mix.

4. On the stove top, melt butter. Add honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Bring to a boil and boil gently for one minute. Remove from heat and pour into dry oat mixture. Stir thoroughly until oat mixture is thoroughly mixed with the butter-honey.

5. Add fruit and thoroughly mix.

6. Pour into baking pan. Wet fingers and press mixture thoroughly into the parchment lined baking pan. Keep wetting fingers if granola starts to stick. Really press down hard until well-compacted.

7. Bake 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. After 30 minutes, put pan in fridge for 30 minutes to harden before cutting into bars. Makes about 15 bars.