Pistachio + Apricot Muesli Bars

Chewy malty muesli bars packed with the goodness of oats, nuts, fruit and seeds.

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups (170 grams) wholegrain rolled oats
• 1 cup (30 grams) rice bubbles
• 1/2 cup (75 grams) pistachios or other nuts
• 1/3 cup (75 grams) dried apricots or other dried fruits
• 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
• 4 tablespoons (55 grams) butter
• 4 tablespoons (100 grams) barley malt syrup (Maltexo in NZ)
• 4 tablespoons peanut butter
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips (optional)

– If using metric cups, reduce volume measures by 1 tablespoon for every cup of dry or liquid ingredients – 

Equipment:

• Large frying pan (preferably without non-stick coating)
• 11 x 7 inch shallow pan lined with baking paper

Directions:

Line an 11 by 7 inch shallow pan with baking paper. Chop the nuts and dried fruit into small pieces. It makes it easier to distribute them throughout the mixture and also makes it easier to cut the bars up without breaking them. Mix the oats, rice bubbles, nuts, seeds and fruit in a large bowl.

Measure the butter, brown sugar, malt syrup and peanut butter into a large frying pan. It should have a heavy base and preferably be stainless steel. Avoid non-stick coating if you can. We are using a frying pan because it’s much easier to mix in the dry ingredients than poking around in a saucepan.

Melt the caramel ingredients together over a low heat stirring pretty much constantly. As it starts to bubble, stir and watch as it thickens.

You need to stir to keep it from catching. It will only take a couple of minutes to get fairly thick and start to stay together in a mass.

Once this happens it’s ready! you can test a drop in a cup of cold water to see if it’s at the soft ball stage, but it happens quickly so it’s easier to go by the visual clues. It also doesn’t matter if the mixture is a bit soft or a bit firm.

Throw in all the dry ingredients and stir/mash/fold it together until the caramel is evenly distributed around all the other stuff and it’s sticking together.

It will look like there is not enough goo, but there is. You only need just enough to make the bars hold together when they are pressed and cut, and to give a little flavour.

Press the mixture into the prepared pan. Pack it down to form a firm, solid layer. Sprinkle a couple of tablespoon of dark chocolate chips over the top if you like and press them in to help them stick.

Chill the bars in the fridge for 10 minutes or let them cool at room temperature until cold. Cut into 16 small bars or 32 bites. The uncut slab can be quite firm when you first cut them up and the bars will soften a bit over time.

Cook’s Notes:

• Use any combination of nuts and fruit that you like to make these bars
• Keeping the bars in the fridge can make them sweat and get a bit sticky when they come back to room temperature
• Use a regular rather than natural peanut butter – it acts as an emulsifier in this recipe to bring the butter and malt syrup together

 – Wrap the bars individually in wax paper or baking paper and store at room temperature in an airtight container. They will keep for a good 2 weeks – 

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