Granola bars

I made these bars the other day and they are very yummy! I've never been able to make granola bars work, they've never turned out crunchy when I made them and were always kind of lacking in taste in my opinion.

This recipe worked for me and I am thrilled! Have you seen the prices for organic granola bars at the stores lately??? Well, for just about $3 I can make a 2 week supply of this yumminess for my kids.

Here is the recipe:
2 cups organic rolled oats (not quick)
3/4 c organic coconut palm sugar or packed brown sugar
1/2 c organic wheat germ
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 c organic spelt, whole wheat or all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 c raw unfiltered honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c coconut oil or organic vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F and generously grease 9 x 13 pan.

Mix the first 6 ingredients then make a well in the center.

Add the rest of the ingredients into the well then mix with hands. Pat evenly into pan.

Bake 30 - 35 minutes or until granola starts to turn golden at the edges. It may look undone in the middle but take it out as soon as the edges turn golden.

Let cool for 5 min and then cut into bars. If you let the granola cool off all the way, it will be too hard to cut. I cut mine into 18 bars.

MY NOTES:
* I used organic spelt in my granola bars and really liked it.
* For salt I recommend either Real Salt or Himalayan crystal salt. Please NEVER NEVER NEVER use regular table salt. It is chemically processed and contains none of the essential minerals that both Real and Himalayan salts do. If you can't find these salts locally, you can purchase them online. We have them both in our Market Street HEB. Hubbell and Hudson also carries at least the Himalayan salt.
* For honey I used local raw unfiltered honey. Please don't fall for the "organic honey" labeling. There's no way to guarantee that the bees have been visiting only organic flowers etc.
* For eggs I of course recommend organic, free range/ free roaming chicken eggs.
* What can be said about vegetable oils other than be careful when using them. Most of our corn and canola oils (made from rapeseed plants) have been genetically modified or GM'd. If you're ok with this, go ahead and use them. I am not so I choose organic coconut oil instead. There are so many good and healthy things about coconut oil! It can replace all of the oils and even butters in your home so the choice is clear to me: I buy, store and cook with coconut oil.
* Last but not least, my bars took about 20 minutes to reach the "take them out of the oven quick" stage so watch them carefully.

Thanks for reading my "sermon" :o) Till next time!