Cranberry Nut Oatmeal Granola Bars

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper or waxed paper.

2. Mix oats, cranberries, pecans, ground flax seed, chocolate chips, and wheat germ together in a bowl.

3. Stir brown sugar, honey, vegetable oil, and salt together in a large microwave-safe bowl; heat in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir mixture and heat in microwave again until smooth, about 30 seconds more. Stir vanilla extract and cinnamon into brown sugar mixture.

4. Stir brown sugar mixture into oats mixture until evenly mixed and chocolate is melted; pour into the prepared baking dish.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Lift bars out of pan by pulling by the parchment paper; cool for 5 minutes before cutting into bars.

Cook's Notes:

If the bars are too crumbly even though you mixed the dry and liquid ingredients well, add a little more honey to your liquid mixture.

If the bars turn out to be too hard, reduce the baking time.