Sunday, May 27, 2012

breakfast in a bar




No, breakfast in a bar is not about having your first meal of the day in a drinking establishment, even if some days it might seem like a good idea.  Although you could call it brunch and then a glass or two of bubbly is acceptable and that’s what I sipped today at our Auckland food blogger catch up brunch, hosted by Allison, Pease Pudding, way out west in Muriwai.  Thanks Allison for a relaxing Sunday morning at your home.  Particularly pleased to meet Food Opera’s Ingrid and Vanessa’s lovely new babies who led us to believe that motherhood is all coffee and cake and sleeping babies.  But hey, they didn’t fool us – we know what they get up to at home.

My contribution to the brunch was these muesli bars.  If muesli means “healthy” to you, think again.  These bars tip the other end of the scale, in more ways than one, so you have been warned.  On the other hand, if you like sweet, sticky buttery goodness, crammed with fruit and nuts and crispness, say hello to these.

The recipe states it makes 12 bars.  They must be giant sized as I managed 30 portions of 4cm x 6.5cm bars (a reasonable-sized bar, I thought).  Halve the recipe, if you don’t want so many.

muesli bars

Adapted slightly from a recipe in the lovely The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.

320g unsalted butter
240ml golden syrup
250g soft brown sugar
250g rolled porridge oats
200g desiccated coconut
100g dried apricots, chopped finely
85g dried dates, chopped finely
125g cornflakes
125g sunflower seeds
60g dried cranberries
60g raw almonds, chopped
60g raw brazil nuts, chopped
125g raisins


Line a 33 x 23 x 5cm baking tin or tray with greaseproof paper.

Gently heat the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar in a saucepan, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. 

In a large bowl, mix the porridge oats, coconut, apricots, dates, cornflakes, sunflower seeds, cranberries, almonds, brazil nuts and raisins until it is well mixed. 

Pour in the liquid mixture and stir to combine thoroughly, making sure all the ingredients are evenly coated in the liquid.

Press the mixture into the baking tin or tray and level with a spoon (I used a stainless steel rolling pin to flatten and compress it).  Cover with a sheet of greaseproof paper, then a tray, covered with weights (I used filled tins e.g. baked beans) to further compress the mix

Leave to cool, then refrigerate overnight.

Cut into bars or squares.


6 comments:

  1. These sound lovely! It's for all the type of yummy sort-of-healthy ingredients I love. Lucky girls to have enjoyed these at brunch Lesley!

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  2. What a fantastic blog you write! Just a quick comment to say that I've nominated you for the Excellence in Storytelling blogger award! You can see my post here: http://foodlovefood.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/an-award-nomination/

    And view the host's blog here: http://foodstoriesblog.com/food-stories-award/

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  3. These are amazing Lesley, you left quite a few behind and I shared them with the girls in work, I'll point them to the recipe here. Look forward to catching up again soon.

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    1. Yeah, I left a few as I had loads still at home! Glad you put them to good use.

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  4. How gorgeous! Love that combination of dried fruits, seeds and coconut. Lovely!

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  5. Sorry to have missed brunch, they are always such lovely catch ups :) All these fruits & seeds sound wonderful!

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