These Oaty Breakfast Bars are quick and easy to make and would be a tasty treat for a lunch box. The fruit, nut and seed additions may all be changed to suit your own taste. For example, for someone with a nut allergy, just omit the nuts and replace them with something else that takes your fancy – perhaps some extra seeds or even some chocolate chips! To make them gluten free, just make sure that the oats and oatmeal you use are gluten free. If gluten free oatmeal is difficult to find, replace them with some additional oats. There are lots of options for making these bars your own!
This is what I used for my version:
INGREDIENTS:
1 tin of condensed coconut milk. If this is not available to you, just use ordinary condensed milk as either work equally well in this recipe
200g of oats
50g rough oatmeal
50g of chopped nuts – I used Brazil nuts
25g of dried apricots, chopped
20g of dessicated coconut
50g of mixed seeds
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
You will also need a shallow swiss-roll type tin to bake the bars in. It’s essential to line the tin with greaseproof paper as these bars have an awful tendency to stick fast to the tin otherwise!
METHOD:
- preheat the oven to 170°C
- empty the tin of condensed milk into a microwave-proof dish
- in a separate bowl, mix all the other ingredients together
- heat the condensed milk on full power in the microwave for 20 seconds. This softens it a bit more and makes it easier to combine with the other ingredients
- add all of the other ingredients into the condensed milk, stirring it all together until everything is well combined
- tip the mixture into the prepared tin, spreading it right into the corners and smoothing the surface
- bake the mixture for approximately 20 minutes, or until pale golden brown in colour.
- remove the tray from the oven and leave it to cool for about half an hour
- cut the mixture into 12 or 16 bars and then leave them until completely cold (if possible!) before tucking in!
Cakes, Bakes and Simple Suppers 