KIND Of Bars

KIND Bars are one of my favorite snacks.  My daughter likes them quite a bit too, but I have to confess: I claim them for myself and steer her towards something not quite so pricey!!  I have yet to find a good deal for the babies, on sale, online, where ever, the cheapest I can get them to is 8 for $10.  Normally they are $1.80...ouch!!  So here is a simple and easy way to make your own, and they taste pretty darn close.  You could have a lot of fun playing with the nuts and fruit combinations, this just happens to be my favorite flavor of the KIND Bars out there.  I am going to be playing with the sweeteners to see if I can nail them exactly, but these are worth sharing in there own right. 

1 cup sliced almond (or you could coarsely chop your own whole almonds)
1/2 cup honey, agave, or maple syrup ( I spray the measuring cup with cooking spray first so it slides right out)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tablespoons ground flax seed

1 teaspoon salt, to taste

Mix all ingredients together.  Grease a 8 x8 pan well, lining with parchment is not a bad idea...these babies are sticky.  Use wet hands to press the mixture into the pan.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, you want to be able to smell the nuts and coconut (which means they are toasted) and they should be golden brown.  Let them sit about 5 minutes, and slice into bars, lift the whole menagerie out if you used parchment ( I will next time myself!).  These need to cool to stay stuck together, but if you let them do this, it will be hard to get them out of the pan in bar form.  So not too long, or too short.  I imagine if you are using parchment, it will solve this problem.  My trust pastry scraper came in handy!!