Homemade granola bites

My mom recently gave me this recipe for homemade granola bars. It's a recipe her sister gave her, and thank goodness. She's been making them a lot lately, (and sharing with us) and they are so ridiculously delicious! The problem is, these things are way too good to be called granola bars, Kimball and I are giving up treats indefinitely (it was his idea, and that's a miracle). So, I tried to change the recipe up a bit and make it a little healthier. I took out all the sugar, corn syrup, chocolate chips, and some of the butter. I also didn't have everything the recipe called for, so I just ised what I had in the cupboards and what sounded good to me. They are still so good!

The original recipe holds together well, and I think the lack of sugar, etc. will change that. We'll see tomorrow morning... they're still setting. I also opted to do little bite-sized balls instead of bars, just in case they were crumbly. I've eaten two already and they are so so yummy!!

Here's my own recipe
(If by any chance you make these, just know all of the amounts are very approximate. I didn't measure anything but the coconut. I'll put the original recipe at the end of the post for those more comfortable with measurements).

Oh, one more thing. I mixed it all by hand, but I would recommend using a mixer).

Mix the following:

1/4 cup agave
6 or so pitted dates chopped
1/2 c chunky peanut butter
1/4 c softened butter
2 tsp vanilla

Now add the dry ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup flaked oatmeal (I pulsed it in the food processor a bit)
1/4. dried cranberries
1/8 c ground flax
1/8 c chia seeds
1/8 c ground almonds
1/8 c ground walnuts (I pulsed the walnuts and almonds together in the food processor until they were ground).

Mix it all together, and then roll it into bite-sized balls, or press into molds (a muffin tin or an ice cube tray would probably work well). I didn't bake mine, but the original recipe calls for baking. I just didn't have time, and I think they're good as they are.

This recipe made about 25 granola bites.

Let it set over night, or just dig in. I don't know yet if the overnight thing will do anything for these. It does for the original recipe, which follows:

2 cups Brown Sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup butter
4t vanilla
6 cups oatmeal
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup cranberries
2/3 cup wheat germ or ground flax
1/2 C sesame seeds
1 cup of chocolate chips

Press well into a large cookie sheet lined with parchment and pat down with a spatula.

Bake 350- 25 minutes

Cut into pieces while still warm but don't take out of pan till next morning.

Store in tupperware or ziplocs or wrap in plastic wrap.

Enjoy!