Line the bottom of an 9 x 11-inch pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 350°F.

Roughly chop the almonds (I did this by pulsing them in my food processor), then mix with the oats and sesame seeds and spread out on a baking sheet. Toast for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring once or twice while baking, until they are slightly browned. Transfer into a large bowl.

Finely chop the dates (I also did this in the food processor, and pulsed them until they formed nearly a paste).

Add the dates, cocoa nibs, and cranberries to the bowl.

Heat the nut butter, sweetener, and salt in a small saucepan, stirring until warm and fluid, but not boiling. Pour the liquid over the oat mixture in the bowl and stir until it’s completely incorporated. I found that getting in there with clean hands was the path of least resistance.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and pat it down so it’s as flat as possible - clean, wet hands do the trick here.

Refrigerate the granola bars for at least 30 minutes.

Remove the pan from the fridge and pull up on the edges of the parchment paper to release it from the pan. Carefully slice the bars into rectangles - I cut about 24 small bars from mine.

Store the granola bars in the refrigerator, or for a longer time in the freezer (this is where mine are at).