Granola Bars

For my first real post I thought I would start with what seems to be a very popular favourite recipe. Granola Bars that will make you gag at the thought of a prepackaged foil wrapped cardboard bar!
This originally started as a completely different recipe and I broke it down to the oats and flour and rebuilt it. So I feel like I can call it my own personal recipe :)

41/2 Cups Rolled Oats
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/8 Cup Ground Flax Seed (Substitute flour if you don't have this)
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
5 Tbsp. Brown Sugar (not packed)
1 Tsp. Vanilla
2/3 Cup Oil
1/2 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Molasses (Scant)
1/3 Cup Applesauce (Heaping)
2 Cups Raisins, Chocolate Chips, Nuts, Seeds, Berries etc.

Preheat oven to 325 F. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan.
Mix together first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together liquid ingredients in a small bowl and then mix into the dry. Add the 2 cups of extras. I usually do a mix of raisins, sunflower seeds, walnuts and a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips. But mix it up! Dried cranberries, dates, almonds etc. they will all taste wonderful!
Pour into pan, and press down or if you have a small rolling pin roll it down. Bake for 10 minutes, re-roll it down (or push it down), and bake for another 5-10 minutes, just until the edges start to brown. Let cool for 5 minutes and cut into bars with a sharp knife. Let cool completely before removing from pan.

I wrap them individually in plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer bag and pull them out one at a time for lunches.

Enjoy! And beware that once you make these you may find yourself becoming quite snobby towards store bought granola bars!