"Granola" Bars

1 lb (approximately 1 1/3 cups) honey**
8 ounces sesame seed
6 ounces golden flax seed (whole seeds, not meal)
2 ounces hemp seed
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/8 teaspoon orange extract
6 ounces dried fruit (I used a "berry blend")

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a work surface.

Combine honey and orange peel in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil (the longer you boil it the more firm the bars will be). Add seeds stir well- as soon as it returns to a boil stir in orange extract and pour onto parchment. Spread it out until it is approximately 1/4" thick, sprinkle dried fruit over top and press it into the seed mixture. Be careful it's hot- use a silicone spatula or some other tool for this.

Let cool to room temperature. Leave on parchment and cut into pieces. Peel off parchment when you serve it.

Variations- you can leave out the fruit, or change the seed ratio, or add other "toppings" like chocolate or peanut butter chips. You can also change, or omit, the peel/extract combo, or use a strongly flavored honey to change the flavor. There are as many variations as you could imagine!

Here are some ideas:
Replace fruit with 1/3 cup each peanut butter, semisweet, and white chocolate chips

Omit extract, replace fruit with 1/3 cup each cranberries and chocolate chips.

Omit extract and peel. Add 1 teaspoon "apple pie spice". With seeds, stir in 6-8 ounces chopped dried apple. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup caramel chips.

**While this is starch free, it is very high in maltose. If you have difficulty with honey or maltose, agave syrup is a good substitute.