Homemade Granola

I love this recipe, and when I was teaching a children's cooking class last year, the kids in my class loved it.  Use any dried fruits, apricots, dates, craisins, raisins.  You also can use any type of nut butter, almond, peanut, soy or sunflower, I love almond myself.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons natural nut butter (almond, peanut, soy or sunflower)
4 tablespoons xagave syrup
3 tablespoons orange honey (okay use any type of honey but orange is my favorite)
2 tablespoons stevia (or use a natural raw sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups puffed rice or if you are not gluten intolerant use Kamut
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup puffed millet cereal or if you are not gluten intolerant use Grape Nuts
1/2 cup whole almonds, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup dried fruit (I love craisins personally)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. line an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper so that the paper overhangs on opposite sides (to make removing the bars easy).

In a small pan, combine nut butter, honey, xagave syrup, and vanilla. (if you use raw sugar add it here, if you use stevia do not add it now),  Heat over medium-low, stirring frequently until the raw sugar dissolves and the nut butter is evenly distributed into the mixture.

In a large bowl, combine the puffed rice or kamut, oats, puffed millet cereal, chopped almonds, flaxseed meal, sunflower seeds and dried fruit.  Pour 1/2 of the warm honey mixture over the oat mixture and use a rubber spatula to combine.  Pour the remaining honey mixture over the oat mixture and continue stirring with the spatula until the mixture is thoroughly blended.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and use the spatula to press the mixture firmly.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the granola bars are golden brown all over. Remove the pan from the oven and use the rubber spatula to press down on the mixture.  Let the bars cool completely in the pan, then use the overhanging parchment paper to lift them out of the pan.  On a cutting board, use a sharp knife to cut 16 squares. Wrap and keep air-tight for a week.  Granola bars can also be wrapped and stored in a plastic bag in the freezer for several months.