"Healthy" Granola Bars with Flax Seed

On my raw milk run at Stutzarts Pantry in Belleville, I ran across this 1 lb. sack of flax seed for .79! I thought it was a bargain and even though I didn't know how I would use it, I bought it anyway! 

My family is not very good with eating granola in our cereal or yogurt but maybe granola bars would be appetizing for them??? And if not... You know who gets to eat it! Yep, me. At least with this recipe I can use the excuse its a healthier choice! 

Since flax is the new wonder grain with sooo many health benefits I found out through reading that the seeds must be broken or milled for their nutrients to actually be nourishing. So I ran them through my Ninja food processor to beat them up a bit. Then messed around with some available ingredients I had in my pantry. 

1/2 butter- melted on stove top in medium sized pot and set to the side.

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 flour

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup flax seed

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 cup raisins (I would have preferred dried cherries but didn't have any) 

Heat the oven to 350•F. Coat a 9x13 pan with non stick cooking spray and set to the side. 

Melt butter and remove from heat. Whisk in the flour, sugar, honey vanilla extract and cinnamon. Add the raining ingredients and mix well. 

Transfer the ingredients to your pan. 

And using a sheet of wax paper, press down firmly to pack in all the goodies! Here Maddies hands doing the hard work of packing together and evening it all out. 

Remove the paper and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown at 350•. Allow the granola to cool for one hour in the pan, then transfer  to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 16-24 rectangle bars. 

I think the next time I make granola bars... I'm going to substitute some things with peanut butter & chocolate chips- Junk It Up a bit! :)