Homemade Granola Bars

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
unsalted butter to greese pan (approx 1 ounce)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt
6.5 ounces chopped dried fruit (I used cranberries, rasberries, and blueberries)
*** I also added about 1/2 cup of ground flax seed ---Love this stuff!

Butter 9x9 inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat oven to 350.

Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, wheat germ and flax seed (optional) onto a baking sheet. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occassionally.

In the meantime, combine honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and salt into a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until brown sugar is completely dissovled.

Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn the mixture out into the prepared baking dish adn press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in airtight containter for up to 1 week.