Chewy Granola Bars

Kyle and Mickey were road-tripping back home and I thought they needed something to munch on - I'm sure I'm not the only person who gets in the car and immediately says "I'm hungry", right? These bars are no-bake which is great, and apparently traveled well because Kyle said later that he was still really enjoying them and asked for the recipe - sounds like a keeper granola bar recipe!

I based these on a recipe found here, I'll give you that and then see all my changes below.

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 T. coconut oil
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1/2 t. sea salt
• 2 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup chopped almonds
• optional: 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

My notes: 

-I used 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1/4 cup mixed nut butter

-I sort of cleaned out the pantry when I made these so added chopped chocolate covered almonds instead of plain, added dried berries, cherries and chopped dried apricots, used coarse salt, and added some chocolate chips and butterscotch chips to the top. You can really vary your add-ins with this one. 

Instructions:

1. Line an 8x8" or 9x9" baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Stir the peanut butter, honey and coconut oil together in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches a simmer. Continue to simmer for 1 minute, stirring often so that the bottom of the mixtures doesn't burn. Remove from heat.
3. Add the vanilla and salt, stir until combined. Add the oats and almonds, stir until completely combined. Stir in whatever other ingredients you are adding.
4. Press the granola firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. (it helps to use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to press it down so it's nice and flat). Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top if you like. Then cover and refrigerate the granola bars for about an hour  or so, until they are chilled.
5. Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan and transfer them to a cutting board. Cut into bars.

store in sealed container for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.