Crunchy Almond Butter Granola Bars

So I introduced my husband to Cascadian Farm's Almond Butter Granola Bars and he loves them. He loves them so much that he goes through an entire box of them in a matter of days (that is not cheap!). So I decided that I would start making them at home. I searched an Almond Butter Granola Bar recipe and decided to tweak it a bit. I used Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Cereal instead of the puffed kamut and grape-nuts cereal. I also opted out of the brown sugar and added agave nectarinstead. I also did away with the dried fruit and substituted raw almonds instead of pumpkinseeds and sunflower seeds. The result tastes almost exactly thesame as Cascadian Farm's! I think Brett will be pleasantly surprised to find a giant bag of his favorite granola bars in the cupboard.

Ingredients:

1½ cups Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Cereal

1½ cups traditional rolled oats (not the quick-cook kind)

¼ cup raw slivered almonds

3½ tablespoons almond butter (can substitute soy butter or peanut butter), creamy or chunky

1½ tablespoons brown rice syrup

2 tablespoons agave nectar

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line and 8- or 9-inch square pan with a long sheet ofparchment paper (so ends extend over edges of pan). (I recommend spraying the parchment paper with cooking

spray because the parchment paper stuck to my bars pretty badly once they cooled).

2. Mix the Ezekial cereal, oats, and raw almonds in a large bowl.

3. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the almond butter, brown rice syrup, honey, agave and vanilla until sugar has melted and the almond butter has thinned.

4. Pour the liquid mixture on top of the dry ingredients, mixing well. When everything is equally coated, spread the mixture into the pan. Press the mixture down with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

5. When you remove the pan from the oven, again use the bottom of the measuring cup to press the bars flat. Allow to cool completely before touching them again.

6. When totally cooled and hard, lift the ends of the parchment and put onto a cutting board and cut into bars or squares. I wrapped the individual bars in foil and stored them in a ziploc bag at room temperature.