This recipe started as an Ina Garten, then was adapted via Smitten Kitchen, and ended up being edited again by me.
Makes 12 to 16 granola bars
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed (I used unsweetened)

½ cup toasted wheat germ (don’t leave this out!)
2/3 cup agave nectar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ cup dried fruit, or a mix of dried fruit (I used chopped dried cranberries and dried blueberries)
¼ cup chocolate chips (because everything I cook has chocolate in it) you could use carob also

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper. You will appreciate this later when you don’t need to scrub granola out of your pan.
Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.
While the mixture is still warm, stir in the nectar, vanilla and salt until the mixture is well coated, then the dried fruit and chocolate chips. Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish and press it in until the mixture is packed as tightly as possible. I would recommend covering the bars with parchment and then pressing a smaller baking dish, to make a tight bar. Remember to take off parchment before placing in oven.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Allow bars to cool for 3 hours before cutting, otherwise granola will fall apart.

What do you like to put in your granola bars?

-Kelly