Prep Time : 15 Minutes | Cook Time : 30 Minutes | Total Time : 1 hour | Difficulty : Easy
Happy New Year to you all! I hope everyone is looking forward to new challenges and exciting opportunities in the coming year. Sadly we also face the less than exciting prospect of going back to work. When you’re used to being on holiday time, come the middle of the afternoon, energy levels can be getting pretty low! Shall we make some delicious muesli squares packed with oats and fruit and nuts to snack on?
These bars are super easy and in my opinion get tastier as the week goes on as the flavours snuggle up together. This time I have used dried papaya and pineapple along with pecans to give the bars a tropical flavour. If other flavours take your fancy then substitute the fruits and nuts by volume with anything you like. Cranberry and pecan, apricot and almond, and dried peach and cashew are all lovely combos!
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and line a 9 by 7 inch shallow tin with baking paper. Chop the fruit and nuts and mix with the seeds. Mix the oats with the coconut, spices and baking soda and set aside. Make sure they are thoroughly mixed and there are no clumps of soda anywhere.
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined. Beat in the peanut butter and vanilla. Add the oat mixture and mix thoroughly to ensure everything is evenly distributed. In with the fruit and nuts and seeds and mix well.
Press the sticky golden mixture into the tin and level the top – the back of a wet spoon is good for doing this.
Bake for about 30 minutes, turning halfway through, until the top is dark gold and the centre is fairly firm. They will have puffed a little and will settle back as they cool. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the tin.
Once the slice is cold, lift it out of the tin and cut into bars. Drizzle with a little melted chocolate because we should be kind to ourselves. I find that cut into 10 bars, they will make a light breakfast or hefty snack. 12 squares is probably the ideal afternoon snack size, and cutting 20 small squares is a good size for children. Remember these are pretty energy dense!
Tropical Muesli Slice
Prep Time : 15 mins | Cook Time : 30 mins | Total Time : 1 hour | Difficulty : Easy | Makes : 10 bars
Packed with the goodness of oats, fruits and nuts this slice is the perfect afternoon snack.
Ingredients:
- 250 gm | 8.9 oz | 2 cups wholegrain oats
- 25 gm | 1 oz | 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 65 gm | 2.3 oz | 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 85 gm | 3 oz | 1/2 cup chopped dried papaya and pineapple
- 40 gm | 1.4 oz | 1/4 cup pumpkin or sunflower seeds
- 45 gm | 2 oz | 4 tbsp butter
- 115 gm | 4 oz | 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 200 gm | 7.1 oz | 3/4 cup peanut butter (like Sanitarium – natural peanut butters can separate and become oily in baking)
- 25 gm | 1 oz dark chocolate for drizzling
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Line a 9 by 7 inch shallow tin with baking paper. Chop the fruit and nuts and mix with the seeds. Mix the oats with the coconut, spices and baking soda and set aside. Make sure they are thoroughly mixed and there are no clumps of soda anywhere.
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined. Beat in the peanut butter and vanilla. Add the oat mixture and mix thoroughly to ensure everything is evenly distributed. Mix in the fruits, nuts and seeds.
Press the mixture into the tin and smooth the top – the back of a wet spoon is good for doing this. Bake for about 30 minutes until the top is dark golden and the centre is firm. Leave in the tin to cool completely.
When cold, remove from the tin and cut into squares. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired.
Adapted from Ovenly.
© 2014 The Winsome Baker. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.
