Crunchy Granola Bars

I have several granola bar recipes and I love having homemade granola bars on hand for snacks. But they are all "soft" granola bars, which I typically like better than the crunchy kind. But every once in awhile a crunchy bar sounds good. I always seem to find recipes for the soft kind, but never the crunchy. So I was happy to come across one.

These granola bars are so good and taste better than any store bought brand I have ever tried. Just note that this recipe makes a lot of bars, about 30, depending on how you cut them. 

Crunchy Granola Bars

Ingredients:

• 7 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups whole almonds
• 3/4 cup honey
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375º F.
2. Line an 18x13 baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. In a large bowl combine the oats and oil until well mixed and oats are evenly coated with oil.
4. Spread the oats out into an even layer on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
6. Remove the oats and reduce the oven temperature to 300º F.
7. Place the nuts into a food processor and process until coarsely chopped.
8. In a small saucepan combine the honey and brown sugar. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the sugar is completely dissolved, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and cinnamon.
9. In a large bowl, with a rubber spatula, stir together the oats, nuts and honey mixture until everything is evenly coated with the honey mixture.
10. Spray the foil on the baking sheet with cooking spray.
11. Spread the oat mixture on the prepared baking sheet spreading it into an even layer. Spray the bottom of a square baking dish with cooking spray and firmly press the oat mixture into the baking sheet, creating a firmly packed even layer.
12. Bake until golden brown, about 35-40 minutes.
13. Cool in the baking sheet, on a cooling rack, for 10-15 minutes, then cut into bars. Make sure you cut all the way through and then allow the bars to cool completely.
14. Do not wait longer than 15 minutes to cut the bars as they harden up significantly as they cool and you will have a very difficult time cutting them into bars.
15. Store the bars in an air tight container on the counter for up to 2 weeks.

Enjoy!!!

Notes:
You can use any kind of nut you would like.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: about 30 bars
Amount Per Serving
Calories 181
Total Fat		7.9g
Saturated Fat		0.7g
Polyunsaturated Fat		1.6g
Monounsaturated Fat		2.7g
Trans Fat		0g
Cholesterol		0mg
Sodium		0.1mg
Potassium		44.7mg
Total Carbohydrates		25.6g
Dietary Fiber		2.7g
Sugars		11.9g
Protein		3.5g
Vitamin A 0.01% Vitamin C 0.01%
Calcium 1.75% Iron 6.34%
*Nutritional information will vary depending on the brands you use.

*Adapted from Delectably Mine.