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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Place peanuts in a plastic bag and smash them with a heavy
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mallet, measuring cup, or sauce pan.
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2.
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Mix the peanuts, oats, wheat germ, and sunflower seeds in a baking dish
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and toast them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
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3.
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Prepare a glass baking dish (about 11 x 13 inches) for your granola,
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lining it with parchment paper.
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4.
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Put the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to
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a simmer, stirring constantly.
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5. Mix your toasted grains and nuts together in a
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large bowl with the sugar mixture and the dried fruit.
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6.
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Mix REALLY WELL to make sure it is completely coated.
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Put granola mixture into your prepared baking dish.
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7.
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Spread mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula. Fold over the sides
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of the parchment paper or add a sheet on top, and PRESS HARD all over the
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granola. You want to compress it together so that your bars won't fall apart when
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you cut them.
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8.
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9. Wait 2-3 hours or until the granola has totally cooled.
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Then, open the paper and carefully turn the granola onto a large cutting board,
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peeling away the rest of the paper.
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10.
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Firmly pressing down with a big knife (not sawing), cut your granola into
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whatever size bars you'd like.
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11.
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You can wrap bars individually in plastic to keep them from sticking or store in an airtight container, between sheets of parchment paper.
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Notes
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Of course, you can mix up the recipe. I used peanuts because they're what we had,
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but next time I'm going to make the granola nutless at first, but during the
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pressing-down part, I plan to press almonds into the top of the bars.
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Another combo that would be fun to try is macadamia nuts, dried pineapple, and
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coconut flakes.
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Or try dried cranberries, walnuts, and white chocolate chips (just a few).
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I also plan to add flax seed to my granola mix.
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Different flavors of honey would also probably change the final outcome too. Mmm...
