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.
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!
ReplyDeleteWhat 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/
ReplyDeleteAnd view the host's blog here: http://foodstoriesblog.com/food-stories-award/
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.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I left a few as I had loads still at home! Glad you put them to good use.
DeleteHow gorgeous! Love that combination of dried fruits, seeds and coconut. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteSorry to have missed brunch, they are always such lovely catch ups :) All these fruits & seeds sound wonderful!
ReplyDelete