Tasty Treat: An Autumn Twist to Granola Bars

I have a few spare minutes, and thought I'd share a recent twist I made to a recipe I posted a few months ago. In May, I shared my FAVORITE (and super healthified - click here to read more about the benefits of the bar's ingredients) homemade granola bars. I make them often (I try to make them once a week, but sometimes I get a bit behind). Below is the master recipe I use (you can also click HERE to be taken to the original post):

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• 2 cups Oats (I use quick cooking)
• 1/2 cup raw unsalted Sunflower Seeds
• 1/2 cup raw unsalted Pumpkin Seeds
• 1 cup of raw unsalted SLICED Almonds
• 1/2 cup Wheat Germ
• 1/2 cup Golden Flax Seeds
• 1 cup Honey
• 3 TBS Blue Agave Nectar
• 3 TBS Butter
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 TBS Vanilla Extract
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 cup Dried Fruit, chopped

Preheat oven to 350º

Grease a 13x9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. On a baking sheet (with sides - this is imperative), spread the oats, seeds, nuts and wheat germ (first 6 ingredients) and toast in oven for about 12-15 minutes, stirring occassionally. Once they are toasted, turn oven down to 300º and remove from oven. During the toasting, combine the honey, nectar, butter, vanilla and salt in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until melted.

In a separate bowl, combine the oat mixture and the liquid mixture, adding the dried fruit and cinnamon. Combine so that the mixture is moist. Turn the mixture onto the glass baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish.

Bake in oven for 25 minutes. Remove, cool, cut. Can be stored in an airtight for up to a week.

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I usually use dried papaya and pineapple as my dried fruit (they are super tasty). For the Autumn Twist, use 1 cup of chopped, dried apples and 1/2 cup of golden raisins. Add 1 tsp of ground clove to the mixture before baking. I made these Autumn-Themed Granola Bars last night, and I CANNOT STOP EATING THEM! They are a great autumn treat, but slightly more health-friendly than Apple Crisp and Pumpkin Pie (although...if you have some, I'll gladly try those as well!)

Enjoy!