Hit the Trail Energy Bars

 We live a very active lifestyle...biking, hiking, skiing and kayaking...or just plain being busy.  I love energy bars for that reason.  What convenience...pop one in a jacket pocket or backpack and voila--instant snack.  I've been warned: calories, added junk that's bad for you...it goes on, so I wondered "how hard are they to make?"  The answer: darned easy!  So easy in fact that I think my twelve year old could do it.

These bars are healthier and much much cheaper to make than to buy.  I think I have around $7 dollars into them for 15 bars...less than 50 cents per bar.  You can't even beat that at Sam's Club!  They taste better than the store bought because you can add whatever you like.  Substitute different nuts: pepitas, pine nuts, cashews or pecans leap to mind.  Substitute different dried fruit to make a completely different taste: dried apricots, apples and cinnamon, raisins or dried cherries would all make a great choice.

Here's the recipe I came up with.  The first time I used maple syrup and the "bars" didn't hold together.  They did, however make the BEST granola in the world after a 10 minute trip to the oven.  Figure your worst mistakes with this recipe will be yummy.

• 1 cup oats, lightly cooked in a dry frying pan over medium heat.  (10 minutes or so)
• 1 cup roasted sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2 cups crispy rice cereal
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey *** (honey unfiltered from local sources.  A lot of "pure honey" has a certain amount of corn syrup and Chinese honey which is illegal because it contains pesticides.  Don't buy it.  You might as well save your money and get corn syrup--at least you know what you're buying.  Once filtered and pasteurized there's no telling what's in it)

Cook the oats to bring out their nutty flavor--un-cooked they taste a whole lot like bits of cardboard.  Put the nuts, seeds and oats in a bowl and mix. Set the mixture aside.

Put the butter, sugar and honey in a small pot.  Cook on low for about 10 minutes.

Line an 8x8 cake pan  with wax paper --all the way up and over the sides.  Mix the syrup with the nut mixture.  Add the cranberries and crispy rice cereal to the batch and mix well.  Transfer the mixture to the wax paper and take another piece of was paper to lay on top.  Compress the mixture through the wax paper until firmed.  Let sit for about an hour to cool and solidify.  Cut with a sharp knife.  At this point the bars will still be warm and gooey, handle with care.

This makes about 15 bars.  Wrap individual bars in wax paper and allow to harden another hour.

You are now ready to take a hike!  Next time I make these I am going to try dipping the bottom in dark chocolate and drizzling some on top for an extra mmmmmmmm factor.