CHEWY APRICOT MUESLI BARS + Chocolate Drizzle

Chewy Apricot Muesli Bars with Chocolate Drizzle

The thing I love the most about these muesli bars is that they aren't overly sweet like so many muesli bar recipes - even the supposedly 'healthy' ones. Instead they are dense and chewy and the chocolate drizzle makes them even more more enticing for little hands. You may notice the new addition of turmeric, I like to slip this super spice into everything from muesli and smoothies to scrambled eggs and the obvious curries.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup / 75g dried apricots I use un-sulfured apricots
• 1/2 cup / 75 g dates or raisins
• 2 free-range eggs
• 75 g butter melted (or coconut oil for dairy-free)
• 2 cup 'quick-cook' rolled oats
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric optional
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

• Roughly chop the dried fruit and place in a small jug. Cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 10-15 minutes. *Preheat the oven 180C. Line a 20-30 cm baking tray with baking paper.
• Drain the dried fruit through a sieve and place in a food processor with the eggs and melted butter, blend until creamy. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse to combine. Or if your food processor is small combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and pour over the wet mixture. Fold together.
• Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and use your hands to evenly press the mixture into the base. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden on top and firm to touch. Remove from the tin and cool on a rack. Once warm cut into 18-24 bars. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired...

Notes

Chocolate Drizzle: Melt 50g of 70-80% chocolate in a small bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Once melted remove from the heat and use the end of a chopstick to thinly drizzle the chocolate in a crisscross over the cut muesli bars. Once the chocolate has set store the bars in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 5 days.

After 9 years and 6000 copies sold, Feeding Little Tummies (including the first edition, Cooking for your Child) is no longer in print. Last week I sent out my last hard copy of Feeding Little Tummies, and unfortunately there are no plans to reprint (however, a digital version is now available HERE). These books have been a huge part of my life for almost a decade. And it all began before I had children of my own when I was nannying and cooking wholesome food for families. I could see the need for a cookbook with a healthy slant including ideas from first foods to school lunches to family dinners.

Not long after I started my own family the first edition ran out of print and we decided to revise into a second edition to be titled Feeding Little Tummies. As I was revising the book my daughter was starting food so the recipes were well-tested and many of the recipes became staples in our own kitchen. Over the years numerous Mum’s (and some Dad’s too) have emailed or pulled me aside to tell me how much they use the book, and then rattle off a list of their favourite recipes. Every time I get such a sense of satisfaction that the book I researched and poured my heart into is actually being used. It isn’t just sitting on a bookshelf rarely opened, instead it is getting dog-eared and food smudged (my own copy included). As an author this is the best ever complement one can receive. I hope I will be able to replicate this in more books and publications as the years unfold.

Of all the favourite recipes I have heard about my Chewy Apricot Muesli Bars are the most often cited. And of-course it is the most cooked recipe around here too. Although I stopped following the recipe many years ago. When I decided to share this recipe today to celebrate the end of an era I realised the recipe I now make is a little different to the original. If you regularly make this recipe from Feeding Little Tummies give this version a go and see what you think. And if you also have a well-used, dog-eared copy of either edition I would love to hear what your most used recipes are? – if you haven’t told me already!

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