Nutty Oat Energy Bars

 

Having got into the habit of eating a piece of Christmas cake with a cup of tea or coffee through the day I felt deprived when my Christmas cake had finished. I know its not a good habit to snack all day, so I wanted something that was a bit more healthy, but which felt substantial. This is the second batch of these energy bars I have made and they are so moreish. Change the ingredients to suit whatever fruit you have in, and I didn't have the puffed rice but that didn't seem to matter. I don't know how many calories are in them, I suspect they can't be classed as a slimming bar due to the chocolate and the peanut butter, but they are definitely more filling and satisfying than a chocolate biscuit.

Ingredients
120g/4oz rolled jumbo oats
30g/1oz unsweetened puffed rice
75g/2½oz toasted flaked almonds
25g/1oz mixed seeds
130g/4½oz stoned dates chopped
50g/1¾oz dark chocolate chips (optional)
40g/1½oz raisins or dried berries of your choice
100g/3½oz crunchy peanut butter
90g/3¼oz honey


Method

Line a 20cm/8in or 23cm/9in square tin with baking paper.

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4.

Spread the oats out onto a baking tray and bake them for about 10 minutes until they smell nice and toasty. Set aside to cool. (You can skip this step, but it makes the bars crispier.)

Mix together the toasted oats, puffed rice, almonds, seeds, chopped dates, chocolate chips, and raisins in a large bowl.

Melt the peanut butter and honey together in a small saucepan over a gentle heat. Stir until the mixture is smooth and thoroughly combined. While still warm, stir the peanut butter and honey into the oat mixture (you may need to get your hands in there) to completely coat all the oats, nuts and fruit.

Tip the mixture into the lined tin and press firmly to make an even layer. Damp hands make this less sticky work. Place the tin into the freezer for 20 minutes to firm up before cutting into 15 bars.