Really Good Fruit Filled Granola Bars

I first found this recipe in the new york daily news. It's important to not overprocess the dough because if you do, it will turn out really greasy. Use a light touch with the pulse button. You can also sub dried cherries for the cranberries.

Steps

In a saucepan , combine the first five ingredients and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook , until the liquid is absorbed and the fruit is fully hydrated , about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile , heat the oven to 375 degrees and line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan with parchment paper.

For the dough:.

Place the flour , oats , light-brown sugar , salt and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor.

Pulse briefly to combine.

Add the butter and honey and process until pieces of butter are no larger than a small pea , about a dozen 1-second pulses.

Do not overprocess !.

I cannot stress this enough !.

Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.

Place the coconut , pecans and / or almonds and the sunflower seeds in the food processor bowl.

Process until the nuts are well broken up , about eight 1-second pulses.

Transfer to the large mixing bowl.

Using your fingers , gently mix the two batches of ingredients together until well combined.

When fully incorporat.

Ingredients

dried apricots, dried apples, dried cranberries, granulated sugar, water, flour, quick-cooking oats, light-brown sugar, salt, ground cinnamon, unsalted butter, honey, sweetened flaked coconut, pecans, sunflower seeds