I made muesli bars. I actually love these and will be making more and with variations to the recipe. So much cheaper and so much tastier than store-bought. I love knowing exactly what is in them. I think I few coconut flakes will go in to my next batch.

I used the oven and microwave, so… Technically kind of sort of cooking…?

My version (original recipe link) The glue:

  • 90g honey
  • 90g natural peanut butter (not ones with sugar added, just plain peanut butter with or without salt. This one was homemade! See a few posts back or look in to my history for it.) For those with peanut allergies, I’m sure any other nut butter will suffice.

Muesli bars (pretty versatile, but I’d probably keep the oats amount as it is):

  • 120g rolled oats
  • 60g almonds, roughly chopped
  • 30g of pumpkin seeds/pepitas
  • 80g sultanas
  • 0.75 tsp of pumpkin spice powder
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 10g chia seeds
  • 10g hemp seeds
  • 40g of dark chocolate (I used two squares out of a 85% Lindt bar, chopped up small)

Preheat oven to 160C/325F (140C fan forced). Bake the oats, almonds and pumpkin seeds to remove what moisture is left and toast them. Bake for 10 minutes.

Pour the above mix in to a heat-proof bowl, and then mix in the sultanas, spice powder, salt, chia seeds, hemp seeds.

Microwave the honey and peanut butter together in one bowl for 30 seconds. You should be able to mix it easily so they are well combined.

Pour honey/butter in to the other bowl, and mix well.

Lay baking paper in a 23cm by 23cm (9" by 9") or similar sized pan (cut the corners of the baking paper so they fold neatly). I like this size because the bars come out at about 2.5cm thick.

Put the muesli mix in to the pan, and press down to flatten firmly. A measuring cup works really well.

Sprinkle the chocolate over the top (it may start to melt because of the warm muesli, but it’s okay), and press down using the measuring cup.

Refrigerate for at least an hour. Cut in to rectangles or whatever shape you like. I cut them in to 12 rectangles.

(You can bake it so that it is crunchy, but I don’t like it that crunchy that I feel like I have to break it with my teeth, so leaving it unbaked actually allows it to have a bit of chew. If you choose to bake, bake for 25m at 160C/325F (140C fan forced).)

Store in airtight container in fridge. Can be left on the bench, but I won’t be eating these too quickly, and prefer cold bars anyway.

I’ll be experimenting more with these in the near future. Spring is here, so that means more outdoor activities. I’ll also give it a go on the stove next time with the toasting of the oats. If it’s going to blaze down here this summer, I’m not turning on the oven.