Fruity Granola Bars

These chewy fruity granola bars will keep for up to 5 days in a sealed dry box in a cool place. I made these last night for a live cookalong and the boys had them in their lunchboxes today.

It feels like an age since I last posted on the blog. Life has been… challenging as it has been for everyone. There were times where I felt like I was going crazy and honestly, sometimes there still are, but if I started to put it all down in print/writing I don’t think I’d be able to stop. Last week a small miracle happened when I got called for my first vaccine by the hospital. Since then the pressure has eased a little and I can start to think about brighter days and meeting people again. There is hope.

So in celebration I turn to comfort food and nourishing my family. As I have always done. From my kitchen to yours.

Makes 9-12 flapjacks (depending on how long you cut them)

Ingredients

• 75g coconut oil
• 75g soft brown sugar
• 50g maple syrup
• 50g raisins (chopped dried apriocots or figs are fine too)
• 250g rolled oats (make sure these are gluten free if you are catering for a gluten free diet)
• 2 black bananas (if you have a banana allergy or none in the house you can use 2 eating apples)

Method

Preheat a (fan) oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

Put the oil, maple syrup, and sugar in a large saucepan & heat until the ingredients are melted together. Stir in the raisins and oats then stir well so that everything is coated in the mixture.

Skin and mash the 2 bananas (or roughly grate 2 eating apples including the skin), then add the fruit to the oat mixture. Stir again so that it’s well combined.  Press the mixture into a 15cm square brownie tin. I line mine with baking parchment to stop things getting too messy and for easy serving.

Put the tin in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Once they start to turn golden brown on top, remove and allow to cool for 30 minutes before using a knife to impress the flapjack shapes on top of the mixture.  Wait until fully cool before breaking into the pieces you’ve impressed using the knife.

Recipe Notes

Try soaking the raisins in about 200ml of orange juice or steep in a cup of tea for an hour or two before making these granola bars. It stops the raisins from drying out when baking and adds a little extra flavour.

This recipe is plant based and allergy friendly. To make it gluten free make sure you buy certified gluten free oats and be careful of cross contamination in the kitchen.

If you’re concerned about the sugar content remove the maple syrup and use both bananas and grated apples instead.

Caitríona xxx