Chewy Breakfast Bar

This is another of my sneaky ways of getting fruit into the children and even better I got Mini Son to help me make them.   They were very popular and just because they have cereal in them does not mean they have to be kept for breakfast.  

The sugar, butter content probably negates the fibre from the fruit but it is better than a lot of the snacks you can buy over the counter and the children love these.

Ingredients 

100g or so of dried fruit - I used a premixed supermarket pack
100g of mixed seeds (these were included in my pack)
280g of oats - i used a mix of jumbo and porridge
50g of multi-grain hoop cereal 
200g of butter
200g sugar - light muscavado 
200g golden syrup

Mix the oats, fruit, seeds and cereal together in a bowl 

Using a large heavy based pan melt the butter, add the sugar and then the golden syrup gently stirring until the sugar has completely melted.

Once melted remove from the heat and add the dry ingredients stirring well 

Pour out into the baking tray and even out.   I tend to use the  pampered chef bar pan which I still line with greaseproof paper with but this is more to lift out than prevent sticking.  If you use a standard baking tray make sure you grease it well.

Bake at a low heat 160C/gas 3 for about 20 minutes until they are golden brown then remove and leave to cool completely.   I score the bars when they come out of the oven and again when they are cool to make it easier to cut them.

In theory these could last 3 days in an airtight tin in practice I cannot get them to last more than a day.  No matter where I hide the tin it is found and all I get are a few fruit crumbs.

Enjoy these and get the children to help which will make them even more tempting.      You could coat the top in melted chocolate or dip each bar half way in once they are cool enough.  Mine don't last that long.   I think they are very similar to flapjack but my children prefer these.

Tiggy 

Check out what I am up to in my other blog Tiggy Hayes