Homemade GF Chewy Granola Bars

Pretty much everything is packaged today.  Sometimes it takes all the fun out of cooking because then you have to compete with this fancy chocolate coated granola bar that has half the nutrients of your homemade not so glitzy looking bar. Since I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2007, I have learned to make almost everything I eat from scratch.  And now that my naturopath has me on a dairy free diet, I am experimenting again with switching things in my recipes.  So far so good. 

Anyway this recipe comes from a home ec notebook that one of my daughters got in junior high. That was definitely back in the day, just about 1998.  And today you hardly see a home ec class in middle school or high school.  Who would ever have thought that they would have ever phased home ec out of the school curriculum.  The home ec room was like a safe haven, you were guaranteed at least an A or  B.  And back in a time when schools didn't have vending machines and didn't let kids eat in class, home ec equaled free food in the middle of the day! 

So here's her teacher's granola bar recipe.  And granola bars aren't like cookies--they allow for a lot of variation. 

Homemade GF Chewy Granola Bars -  Makes 2 dozen

1.  In a large bowl combine well the following ingredients:
(1)  1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar (I usually make this 3/4 cup)
(2)  1/3 cup of peanut butter
(3)  1/2 cup light corn syrup (I like to use agave syrup)
(4)  1/2 cup of melted butter (I always use a little less, and lately I've been trying to substitute coconut oil for butter to reduce my dairy intake)
(5)  2 teaspoons of vanilla

2.  Then stir in the following:
(1)  2 1/2 cups of  gluten free rolled oats
(2)  1/2 cup of flaked coconut
(3)  1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
(4)  1/2 cup of raisins
(5)  1/3 cup of flax seed or almond meal
(6)  2 T sesame seeds
(7)  Optional:  1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips or carob chips

3. Press this mixture evenly into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. 

4.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until light brown.  Cool completely and then cut into bars.

Cookies:
The Ultimate Gluten Free Cowboy Oatmeal Cookies   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Mom's Go To For Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
The Best Gluten Free Recipe for Snickerdoodles    (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Gluten Free Rocky Road Brownies    (From a church friend)
Mark's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies - Made Gluten Free!   (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
Judi's Gluten Free Oatmeal Craisin & Coconut Cookies (From a church friend)
Marie's Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies (Also Great Gluten Free!)   (My friend Marie's recipe)
Bebe's Gluten Free Whoopie Pies  (From my friend Debbie)
Gluten Free Coconut Chocolate Chip Macaroons  - (Recipe on Baker's bag of coconut)
Dale's Gingersnaps Made Gluten Free  (From my Come & Dine cookbook)
Chewy Gluten Free Molasses Cookies (From my daughter-in-law's Family Reunion Cookbook)
Those Famous Neiman Marcus Cookies Made Gluten Free   (From my daughter-in-law)
Janah's Oatmeal Cookies with a GF Spin  (My daughter's recipe)
Homemade Gluten Free Butter Cookies   (From My Heritage School Cookbook)
An Old Fashioned Favorite Made GF - Hermit Cookies- Hermit Cookies  (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
A New Twist on Holiday Peppermint Cookies (You can make them Gluten Free) - (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
Who Wouldn't Love a Cookie that Tastes Like a Brownie? GF Cocoa White Chocolate Chip Cookies - (From my daughter-in-laws family reunion cookbook)