Homemade Apple Pie Granola Seed Bars

Why make your own granola bars when you can easily purchase them at the store?  The main reason:  homemade is much healthier for you!  And I think they taste better too.  It's also a fun snack to make with your kids, especially if they like granola bars.  I used to eat the Sunbelt chocolate chip ones all the time until I read all the ingredients in them that aren't healthy for you at all (like corn syrup, soy lecithin,dextrose, sorbitol, and carrageenan). 

Here are the bars that I make and sell at our local farmer's market...

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of old fashioned oats
• 2.5 cups puffed quinoa cereal 
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 to 1.5 cups of dried apples (I dry my own gala apples, but you can get dried apples online or at your local store)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flax seeds
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or almonds)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon (plus a little more for dusting)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• nutmeg
• ginger 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven 350 degrees F.  Prepare 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper and spread the oats, nuts, and all the seeds on sheet in an even layer and bake for about 10 minutes.
2. While oats are baking, in a small saucepan bring honey, oil, and brown sugar to a simmer.  Stir together for about 2-4 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved in the honey.  Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.
3. Remove oat mixture from oven once done and let cool for several minutes.
4. Once oat mixture is cooler (warm but not too hot to touch) combine quinoa, apples, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.  Stir until well combined.  Add the oat mixture and stir until well combine.  Then add the honey mixture to the bowl and mix well (wooden spoons work best).  Combine until everyting is well coated.
5. Put mixture in baking sheet and press down using parchment paper to pack it down into the dish.
6. Sprinkle the tops with a little bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
7. Set in fridge and let chill for about an hour.  Cut into desired bars/bites.

I've had these bars keep their chewy texture in a ziplock bag in my pantry for about 2 weeks.  I usually eat all of them before 2 weeks so I'm not sure how long they actually keep in your pantry.  You can also freeze them to increase longevity.

Other things to note:

If you take these in temperatures above 75 degrees, they are chewier and fall apart a little easier since the coconut oil turns into a liquid at that temperature.  The honey still holds them together for the most part, but they are softer above those temperatures (in case you are taking them hiking with you or something).

If you don't feel like making these on your own, I offer local delivery for them (I usually make and deliver them within a day or two).

Let me know what you think of this recipe and if you have any modifications to it :)