Best Granola Bars EVER!

I got this recipe from a friend who gave her the recipe ...
I like them with craisins and mini choc chips. I could personally do without the chocolate chips but the family HAD to have them.

Granola Bars

I got the recipe from one of my favorite websites called allrecipes.com.  Here's the link if you want to see the original recipe and read any reviews:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Playgroup-Granola-Bars/Detail.aspx

Then, here's the recipe with my slight variations:

Playgroup granola bars

2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I know other reviewers said they cut back on this amount and still liked the results...so if you like less sugar in a recipe, it would probably be fine to cut it by half)
1/2 cup wheat germ (I have used wheat germ or more often have used 1/4 cup flaxseed meal and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour to replace the wheat germ)
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup flour (I normally use 1 cup white whole wheat flour, but you could probably use either white or regular ww flour) 
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup oil (I do use this full amount but lots of reviewers said they substituted applesauce for half or all of it with no problems)
2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup-1 cup of add-ins (could be white or brown chocolate chips, dried fruit, chopped nuts, whatever...my personal favorite is dried cherries and white chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Generously grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, and salt.  Make a well in the center and pour in the honey, egg, oil, and vanilla.  Mix well using a wooden spoon and probably your hands as it gets thicker.  Then, add in any dried fruit, chocolate, or nuts and mix in with your hands.  Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.  (It helps to just spray your hands with a little bit of oil....the mixture is very sticky and thick.)

Bake for about 20 minutes (I reduced the cooking time).  The bars are done when the edges start to turn golden.  Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm.  Spread on wire rack to fully cool.

It's become one of our very favorite recipes.  It's relatively healthy, and my kiddos are happy to eat them.