Fruit & Nut Granola Bars

It's no secret I'm a major hippie when it comes to my overwhelming love for granola. I used to swear by Bear Naked Fit vanilla almond crunch, as well as their fruit and nut granola. If it came down to me being able to put $5 worth of gas in my car or buying a bag of granola, let's just say I'd be sitting at home with a spoon and a big grin on my face! Don't worry about me ever running out of gas though, because I will never buy store-bought granola again. For my first homemade granola adventure I used a recipe by Ina Garten, but I followed Smitten Kitchen's wise adaptations. I omitted the butter and left out the brown sugar. Because after that King Cake, I thought it best to cut calories wherever possible. Instead of chopping dried fruit, I used 1 1/2 cups of a mix of Archer Farms Raisin Nut trail mix and Sunny Cranberry trail mix. Altogether I had raisins, golden raisins, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and a few hazelnuts and pistachios (I picked out the whole almonds from both trail mixes). I also omitted the salt from the recipe, because the nuts in the cranberry trail mix were salted. And for the coconut I used shaved coconut instead of shredded because it was prettier! ;D On the day the granola is made, it's of the chewier variety. But as time passes, it becomes suitable for crunchy granola lovers. Either way, it tastes phenomenal! PS: It's also delicious crumbled over fresh fruit and yogurt! Another checkmark on my Top 100!
Granola Bars
Makes 12 to 16 granola bars

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds (I used slivered almonds)
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed (I used shaved)
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
2/3 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups diced dried fruit (I used fruit and nut trail mix)

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter an 8×12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.

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 honey, vanilla and salt until the mixture is well coated, then the dried fruit. Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish and press, press, press it in (wet fingers and/or a silicon spatula work great for this) until the mixture is packed as tightly as possible.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares.

Store in an airtight container between sheets of wax paper.