Chocolate and healthly don't often feature in the same sentence, at least not when I'm talking about them, so this was a bit of challenge as the usual things I would usually associate with chocolate - cookies, brownies, cheesecakes - were out of the running straight away. In the end I decided to combine chocolate with lots of good stuff like oats, seeds and dried fruit to make a pretty healthy, and tasty, muesli bar. Ok, the ratio of chocolate to everything else is not particularly high but it's definitely there so I think it just about qualifies for the challenge!
Chocolate Chip Muesli Bars
(adapted from Everyday by Bill Granger)
350g/12oz porridge oats
30g/1oz dessicated coconut
50g/1 3/4oz flaked almonds
30g/1oz sesame seeds
35g/1 1/4oz sunflower seeds
55g/2oz chopped dried apricots
185ml/6 fl oz honey
55g/2oz soft brown sugar
125ml/4 fl oz vegetable or sunflower oil
100g/3 1/2oz chocolate chips (milk or dark)
1) Preheat the oven to 130c/250f/ gas mark 1. Line a 35 x 25cm tin with greaseproof paper. Put the oats, coconut, almonds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and apricots into a bowl.
2) Put the honey, sugar and oil into small pan and stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Pour this over the dry ingredients in the bowl and mix together until everything is well combined.
3) Mix in the chocolate then press into the tin. Bake for 50 minutes or so until golden brown. Cut into bars while still warm.
Makes 16
They sound delicious and look great - fab photos!
ReplyDeleteJust the sort of thing to fill a serious hunger gap and yet feel like a treat.
ReplyDeleteThese sound really healthy with all the seeds and fruit and if you used a really dark chocolate that's good for you too. But not only do they sound healthy, they look really delicious. I've been meaning to make "breakfast bars" as I keep hearing these called and here's another hint for me. Great photographs too.
ReplyDeleteI love bars like this and so do my boys. These look great!
ReplyDeleteMaria
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