Chewy Granola Bars

Preheat your oven to 300° F.

Place oats in your food processor and process for 5-10 seconds until ground into a course meal. You still want some whole oats to remain.

Spread oats onto a baking sheet and set aside.

Place chopped nuts in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. You want about 1/2 course meal and 1/2 small bits.

Scatter the nuts onto the baking sheet along with the oats. Bake for 10-15 minutes, stirring once, until lightly toasted. Remove from oven and set aside.

Increase oven to 350° F.

Line a 9x9 cake pan with parchment paper.

Place the pitted dates in your processor and blend until a smooth paste forms; this takes about 30 seconds - 1 minute. They'll go from chopped, to a large ball, and finally smooth out into a smooth paste. Scrape sides as needed. Add a bit of water if you can't get them to process well.

In a large bowl, stir/mash in the coconut oil, nut butter, and vanilla until well combined.

Add the oats, nuts, coconut, chocolate, hemp, cinnamon, and salt. Mix together with your hands until fully incorporated. The mixture will look crumbly but should hold together when squeezed. If it feels very soft and gooey add 1/4 cup more oats.

Empty mixture into your lined pan and spread evenly to the edges and corners. Place a piece of parchment over top and press down as firmly as you can until well-compacted and fully smooth from edge to edge. Be sure the corners are well packed.

Bake for 8 minutes; remove and let cool for 1 hour.

Place the pan in the fridge and let chill for at least 2 hours.

Carefully lift one edge of parchment and slide the bars and parchment from the pan to a cutting board (support the bottom with your hand or flat spatula).

Chop into bars with a long, sharp knife.

Keep tightly covered in the fridge.