Homemade granola bars

Two recipes for Chewy Granola Bars.
Last week, my kids and I made these yummy granola bars I found at Make and Takes. These are chewy and sweet and hard to stay away from, so make at your own risk. They're super easy and the recipe seems flexible enough to toy with to suit your own tastes.

Chewy Granola Bars
2 1/2 c quick oats (I used part quick and part old-fashioned)
1/2 c Rice Krispies
1/4 c coconut
1/2 c M&M minis (I raided the fridge and used chocolate, peanut butter and butterscotch chips instead-all refrigerated and then thrown in the food processor for a bit)
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c butter, softened
1/4 c honey
1/2 tsp vanilla

Add all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix together (using wooden spoon or similar) until combined. Press into a square 8x8 pan (I used a 9x13 instead). Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and score into bars. Let it set completely and then cut into bars.

We've also made the Chewy Granola Bars from the Summer 2006 issue of Good Things for Kids (not sure if this little magazine is still around). These are a bit more complex in flavor, ingredients, and steps-to-make.

Chewy Granola Bars
1/2 c unsalted butter, room temp, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
4 1/2 c old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
1/3 c packed light brown sugar
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c coarsely chopped pecans (2 oz)
1/2 c golden raisins
1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c sunflower seeds (I recommend against those weirdly coated dry-roasted ones)
1/2 c wheat germ
1/2 c dried apricots (3 1/4 oz)
1/2 c honey
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9x13 baking pan; line bottom with parchment paper, and butter parchment. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together oats, sugar, flour, and baking soda. Stir in pecans, raisins, chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, and wheat germ; set aside.

Place apricots in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth, about 60 seconds. Add butter; process until smooth. With the machine running, add honey through the feed tube, processing until smooth. Transfer apricot mixture to bowl with oat mixture; fold in until thoroughly combined.

Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Using an offset spatula, press firmly into bottom and edges of pan, and level the surface. Place in oven; bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let cool completely.

Invert onto a baking sheet, and lift to remove pan; peel off parchment paper. Reinvert onto a cutting board, and cut into 24 bars (8 rows by 3 rows). Bars can be wrapped in waxed paper and stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 weeks.