homemade granola bars

Today Graham is off to a 8 hours race (mountain bike) which he is relaying with my brother, Josh. So, last night I made him some good for you, yummy granola bars to pack along.

Whole Grain Energy Chews (found here)

1/4 cup almonds, roughly chopped
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped up
1/2 cup dried cranberries(I used dried sour cherries-yum!)
1/4 cup pumpkin or sunflower seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup Red River Cereal or Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal
1/2 cup honey(I only used 1/4 cup, I have made them once before and found them to be a bit too sweet for us)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350, and toast the oats, almonds, and pumpkin/sunflower seeds on a baking sheet until just golden and fragrant. (Watch carefully, they burn quickly!)
Add the fruit and seeds to the oat and nut mixture. Mix well.
Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add cereal, stir and remove from heat. Allow to sit for 2 minutes.
Add peanut butter, honey, salt and vanilla to the pan and return to medium low, stirring often for 7 minutes. The mixture should start to shine and pull away easily from the sides of the pan. Stir constantly to avoid it sticking to the bottom. Do not overheat.
Add the warm peanut butter mixture to the oat mixture, and combine thoroughly. Press very firmly into an 8×8 glass or metal pan (place a piece of foil that matches the size of the pan on top and press with your hands.) Leave to rest for at least 2 hours. Cut in 36 small squares and freeze indefinitely, or refrigerate/wrap and keep at room temperature for up to a month. Since the ingredients are all non-perishable, they will likely go stale before they go “bad.”