Nut & Fruit Bars

Paleo Granola Bars - but there's no oats so aren't they really just Nut/Fruit Bars?

The next batch I'll include a 1/2 cup of protein powder to give them some extra oomph.

Ingredients

• 3 cups of assorted nuts and seeds  
  (ideas: pepitas, slivered almonds, whole almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds)te
• (I didn't use seeds and think it would add to the texture for the next batch.  I used whole almonds, Pecans and Walnuts)
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup sunflower seed butter
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Pull out a 9x13in Pyrex dish and throw down a layer of parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Pour assorted nuts and seeds into a large mixing bowl and combine.
3. Take 1 cup of assorted nuts out of bowl and add to a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to chop nuts into smaller pieces.
4. Take remaining 2 cups of assorted nuts and add to a food processor. Pulse until they're chopped much smaller, a variety in sizes of nut pieces will be good for look and feel of the bars.
5. Add the nuts from the food processor and the cutting board back into the mixing bowl and stir to combine.
6. Add the dried cranberries to the mixture and stir to combine.
7. Add the shredded coconut to the bowl and again, stir to combine.
8. In a small saucepan add coconut oil, sunflower seed butter, honey, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. (Maybe add a few more shakes of cinnamon while doing that too.) Cook, stirring over medium-low heat until it starts to bubble. Once bubbling, remove from heat.
9. Pour the liquid mixture over the nut mixture in the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Make sure everything is mixed well.
10. Pour the nuts-and-honey mixture into the previously set up dish on the parchment paper and either use a second sheet of parchment paper, slightly wet hands or a spoon to press firmly to pack the ingredients together. Make sure, then double check, that everything is nicely packed together.
11. Let the mixture sit on the counter and settle for 2 hours.
12. Cover and put in the freezer for 1 hour, or longer.
13. Using parchment paper makes it super easy to now take the large sheet of granola out of the dish and transfer it onto a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to slice (not saw, otherwise they have a tendency to start to flake apart) the bars into whatever size pieces you'd like your granola bars to be. I did rectangular/squarish, palm size pieces.
14. Enjoy! :)