Leslie's Granola Bars

As requested by many, here are my favorite granola bars. This recipe was excellent, but I never make them the same way twice as there are so many variations.  You can throw in apples, apricots, other nuts and seeds, etc.  Have fun with it.  Here we go!

Ingredients: almonds, meuslix (bulk section at Whole Foods), dates, vanilla, dried cranberries,  raisins (golden or regular), raw coconut, cinnamon, water.  Amounts of each is up to your taste.  I will provide general guidelines below, but this is not a science. That's why I like it better than baking - precision is NOT required. 

Tools: food processor, waxed paper, rolling pin, large cutting board or sheet,  large spoon, large knife, dehydrator (not pictured) or oven  that will go as low as 140 degrees

Step 1:  Add 3 cups of almonds to the food processor.  Chop until  desired texture - sometimes I mix chunkier as pictured, when I get distracted, it is much finer.

Step 2:  Add 1/2 box of raisins, 8-10 pitted dates, 1 t. vanilla, 2 t. cinnamon, and a splash of water.   Blend until it starts clumping as in this picture.  It will want to rock off of your counter - hold on tightly.  If too dry, add another splash of water.  Just enough so that it clumps.   

Step 3: This is where the road divides.  You can end with these ingredients and move to Step 4  which makes for wonderful bars, or you can add the remaining ingredients for a more robust flavor:  3-4 cups meuslix, coconut (the more the better for me!), and a small amount of cranberries (too many is overpowering) .  Blend together until clumping, again use a splash of water if too dry to form a ball.   Once texture is pack-able, place on a square of waxed paper.  Fold over the paper so you can press it together to make a roll. 

Step 4:  Place a second sheet of waxed paper on top of the mix.  Use rolling pin to roll to approx  1/4".  It will roll to a rounded flat area.  To make it a rectangle (easier for cutting uniform bars), pull the top layer back, then fold the bottom excess wax paper up and over the mix and fold it flat so the rounded edge now is a straight line.  It will be thicker, so put top paper back and roll a little to thin.  You may have to do this a couple of times, but it pays off in making a nice rectangle that you only have to cut once with no extra edges that you have to re-roll. 

Step 5: Slide it onto the cutting board.  Carefully peel off the top waxed paper. Use a large knife to score the bars the size you want.  I use a ruler to  get more uniform sizes. 

Step 6: Lay your dehydrator sheet upside down on the bars.  Flip  the whole thing over to place bars on the sheet.  Then use knife to carefully separate the bars. 

Step 7: Place in dehydrator over night.  Enjoy a wonderful, healthy bar for breakfast!