- A shallow 8×8 inch ( 20x20cm) baking tin, lined.
- A medium/large bowl
- A tablespoon, or wooden spoon, for mixing.
INGREDIENTS:
- 150g Rolled oats (NB: not instant)
- 60g peanut butter – I used Crunchy.
- 1 large banana, mashed
- 40g Sunflower seeds
- 40g other seeds – I used Chia and Poppy
- 40g chopped apricots – I used unbleached Apricots because that’s what I always use, but the yellow ones definitely look better..
- 30g raisins
- 100mls Maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 50g Dark Chocolate – for drizzling after the bars have cooled – optional.
METHOD:
- Preheat over to 180 degrees fan and toast the sunflower seeds for 10-11 minutes on a small baking sheet.
- Line an 8x8inch tin with baking paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the mashed banana and peanut butter.
- Stir in the oats, making sure that all of the oats are moistened.
- Add maple syrup and cinnamon and stir until combined.
- Remove toasted seeds from oven and stir into the oat mixture, along with the Chia and Poppy seeds.
- Add raisins and chopped apricots.
- Press mixture into 8×8 baking pan, making sure it is evenly distributed and tightly packed (use a flat-bladed knife, or the back of a spoon for this)
- Bake for 25 minutes at 180 fan
- Cool for at least 1 hour before cutting into squares on a cooling tray
- Melt the chocolate if using, and drizzle lazily over the squares..
- Enjoy with a big mug of coffee!
NOTES:
- Amazingly, with all the Maple syrup in these, they’re not actually that sweet – making one think (erroneously, I fear) that they’re calorie-free. They’re not, but all that raw stuff must be good for you – seeds, oats, banana, even organic Peanut Butter!
- They’re definitely not sweet enough for kids – I really don’t think they’d like them – all the more for us then 😉
- I think that you can put virtually anything you want into these – the original recipe I saw (well, one of them) had a load of nuts, so feel free to make them your own.
I started writing down recipes in an old copybook when I was about 16. With 6 children at home, my Mother was always glad of a hand in the kitchen, and really allowed us to experiment - as long as we washed up afterwards, and left the kitchen immaculate! Having a tidy kitchen has followed me through my life, as has the habit of writing down my favourite recipes; except that these days I write them for my website, and add photographs when I can. The website really started when it occurred to me that my daughter might like to have these recipes when I've forgotten them. In my early days of cooking for family and friends, I used to phone my Mum all the time to ask her for the recipe for some of our favourite family dinners. She rarely had a recipe to hand - I think, like me, she made a lot of it up as she went along.. So welcome to Eating for Ireland - these are the recipes that my friends and family having been eating these past 40 years.. yes, I truly am ancient! They are tried and tested, and have worked for me for all that time - I have updated them as new ingredients became available - I really hope you'll find something that you can make into a family favourite of your own. You don't have to tell anyone where you found these great new dishes that you're serving up - it can be our little secret, but I'd really love it if you could give me a sneaky 'follow' on Facebook and Instagram.. So off you go - have a good rummage around, you're bound to find something new! My sincere thanks to all of you who have found a recipe that you liked and dropped me a line to tell me - I really do love to hear from you! Happy Cooking! Becks xx