Gluten-Free Granola Bars

Directions

1. Mix everything but the coconut milk together really well in a bowl. Make sure sunflower butter is fully blended - I have found using my fingers and rubbing it together with my fingers like making pie crust works great to get the sunflower butter fully blended. You can also just pulse a few times in your food processor - it will help the bars stay together but don't over whiz or you will miss the nice chunky bits.
2. Add the coconut milk and stir all together.
3. Soak all ingredients with the coconut milk for about 30 minutes.
4. Spread out on dehydrator sheet liner, compacting it into a block of even mix, about 8" x 8".
5. Using a piece of parchment paper and a rolling pin can help form a solid smooth rectangle.
6. Gently press a knife into the block to pre-mark 8 - 10 rectangles, not pushing all of the way through, but enough to score so that they can easily be separated when dry.
7. Dehydrate on medium heat for 4-6 hours and then gently remove the block from the liner so air can better circulate and continue to dry another few hours until crispy.
8. Break gently along the scores. Store in airtight container.
9. ++You can bake these in an oven if you don't have a dehydrator. Just press into a parchment lined pan so it is compact, score the mix, and bake on a low temperature until crispy…not very long, not very hot!
10. ++To make granola, crumble the bars or chop roughly with a knife after they have dried and cooled.
11. Try different combinations - pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, different dried fruit - just keep your fruit/seeds to 1/2 cup or less and chop them into small bits if there are larger pieces. I love dried cherries, cranberries, peaches, blueberries - pick your favorite combo!