the best homemade granola bars

High fructose corn syrup drives me nuts. It's everywhere, and I won't buy it. Partly now it's on principle and partly it's because I know too much, like how overproduction of corn ruins our farmland, how disturbingly oversweetened our kids are and how cheap foods - which all contain this culprit - are making the poorest in this nation fatter. However, my five year old dissolves into a heap of tears nearly every time we visit the grocery store and I read the ingredient list on a package he is just dying to bring home and declare, "Nope. We can't eat this." Thanks goodness for Trader Joe's.

Even still, the packaging and the pricing are usually a little much, and the product is just so-so. I am convinced there are better alternatives. And when it comes to the granola bar, I am right. After lots of experiments, we have come up with the ultimate recipe. No high fructose corn syrup. No packaging. And because of the sheer number of "bars" we can make, it's a bargain.

There are lots of ways to vary this recipe. Add peanut butter or nuts. Add sunflower seeds. Replace the flour with soy flour if you have an issue with gluten. Substitute quick oats for some of the old fashioned oats to make the bars more cake like. Or dream up additions and substitutions of your own. But maybe try this one to get started. It's really, really good.

Homemade Granola Bars
2/3 cup softened butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 cup flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
4 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup sweetened coconut
2-3 T ground flax seed
1/2 cup dried cranberries, raisins or cherries
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Mix ingredients together. Press into a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.