Crunchy Nut Muesli Bars

I was upset. Looking at the muesli bar section at my local supermarket, my favourite muesli bars had disappeared. I was outraged! Disgusted! So I went to a bigger supermarket hoping that I would find my favourite bars. But I was wrong. The ENTIRE line had been discontinued. I was mortified.

Instead of conceding defeat; I went to my computer and looked up a recipe for crunchy nut muesli bars. After hours of searching and testing in my beloved kitchen, I found the perfect recipe. This recipe was discovered at Once Upon A Chef's website. I have slightly amended it (of course!).

Ingredients

1½ cups rolled oats
1 cup crisp rice cereal (Rice Bubbles)
1 cup mixed raw nuts, crushed
½ cup macadamia nuts, crushed
⅔ cup desiccated coconut
½ cup honey
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line a baking tray with heavy duty aluminum foil. Add a sheet of baking paper on top.
Spread the oats and nuts onto prepared baking sheet. Place in the oven and toast for 7 minutes. Add coconut and toss well, then place back in the oven to cook about 5-7 minutes more. Keep an eye on it towards the end; you want the coconut to turn golden but not burn. Remove from oven and add mixture to a large bowl. Reduce oven temperature to 160 degrees.
Combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract and salt in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir with a whisk until the brown sugar is completely dissolved. Turn off heat and set aside.
Combine the the oat mixture, honey mixture and rice cereal in a large bowl and mix well.
Remove baking sheet from tray and then spray foil with nonstick cooking spray. Turn mixture out onto the baking tray and spread evenly, being careful not to press down too hard. Bake for 20 minutes (be sure heat is reduced to 160 degrees).
Remove from the oven and cool completely. Use the foil overhang to transfer bars to cutting board, then use a large knife to cut into rectangles.
Store in an airtight container for up to a week (Make sure baking paper is used between layers so the bars don't stick!).