Tuesday, August 07, 2007

More Muesli Bars

My previous batch of muesli bars were a success, albeit a bit rich in butter and sugar so I thought I'd try another version. This time I've played around with a recipe found in AWW's Cakes, Biscuits and Slices. The original recipes calls for pistachios and craisins but since Paalo is allergic to cranberry I've replaced them with dried blueberries - I've also added some flaked almonds and desiccated coconut to the mix.

Muesli Bars ©

Blueberry Muesli Bars

125 grams butter
75 grams soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey (I used Miellerie Honey)
140 grams rolled oats
75 grams self-raising flour, sifted
150 grams dried blueberries
70 grams slivered pistachios
50 grams flaked almonds
50 grams desiccated coconut

Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F.
Line a shallow 20x30 cm (8x12 inches) tin with baking paper that overhangs the sides. This will help lift the mixture from the tin once it's cooked.

Place the butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Don't allow the mixture to boil.

Take the mixture off the heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients making sure it's well amalgamated.

Spoon the mixture out onto the prepared pan, spread it out and then press it down firmly with the back of a spoon.

Muesli Bars ©

Cook for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Let it cool in the pan before slicing it.

cooked muesli bars

Cut into 5cm/2 inch thick slices and then cut each slice into 4 pieces.

Muesli Bars ©

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14 comments

  1. you always have such amazing photos! i hope one day mine will compare :)

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  2. What a brilliant idea! I love your changes. You've done the impossible and turned the humble muesli bar into a gourmet treat!

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  3. Haalo, your bars look so good! I really like what you've done here - delicious and healthy, how rare is that?

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  4. The addition of dried blueberries is great. Muesli bars are great for a breakfast on the run. But I've never made muesli bars because I can never find a recipe that has lower fat than the store bought gourmet bars.

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  5. Your Muesli bars are always so beautiful Haalo. You should turn it into a business. I will be your first client.

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  6. Thank you Missnoma - i think it's just having good natural light.

    Thanks Truffle - it's a pretty good recipe to start with and you can really add all sorts of things - I think I might add apricots next time.

    Thanks Patricia - crunchy, fruit and nutty, I know I can resist that combination.

    Thanks Nora - they are a good low GI snack.

    Thank you Rose, that is so lovely of you - I'd gladly bake you a big tray of these!

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  7. this looks amazing. a nice thing to add to the homemade snacks for the week. any suggestions for something to replace the coconut with, though? we have an allergy to it in the house...

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  8. Thanks M - I'd probably just add more flaked almonds or maybe even sunflower kernels

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  9. Thanks so much for the recipe! Your photos are fantastic. I changed your recipe around a little - I used dried cranberries instead of blueberries and used macadamia nuts instead of the almonds & pistachios. My husband loved them!

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  10. Thanks Gem - that is great, I'm so glad they were enjoyed!

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  11. I made this this weekend and the comments were:

    During preparation: "Oh, I could eat it straight away!"

    After baking: "... *munch, munch* This is good! *munch, munch, munch* ..."
    "This is the food of gods!"

    And my brother, who isn't into nuts, seeds, fruit and stuff like that, ate half of the tray!


    Thank you :D !

    But I have two questions:

    1. I followed the recipe, but the end product was not as cohesive as I'd thought it would be - it wasn't suited for cutting, it broke.

    That wasn't a problem at all, but I'm wondering what I should add to make the ingredients stick together :) . Adding more honey seemed a bit too sugary, adding more butter a bit too oily...

    2. Did you oil/butter the pan or sprinkle it with flour?

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  12. Thanks Ana - I use baking paper to line the tray and just press the mixture onto the paper. What holds them together is the reaction between butter, sugar and honey and it needs to reach a certain temperature to caramelise and become toffee like. The solution might be as simple as cooking them just a little longer. You also need to cut them when they are cold, which is a hard thing to do especially when you want to eat them right away!

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  13. I'll try cooking the mixture a bit longer, I really did cook it for a short time.
    Thank you :) .


    My mother said the same thing - about waiting for it to get cold before cutting... But it was just too tempting :D .
    I'll listen to both of you next time.

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  14. Ana - It's hard to resist when it smells so good!

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