Ultra chewy, homemade muesli bars that are cheaper, tastier and overmuch healthier than store-bought. Tastes similar a chewy caramel studded with nuts and fruit! Excellent mode to wide retired random leftover nuts and dried fruit.
The lawsuit for homemade muesli bars
There’s immoderate things that I’ll ever (probably) bargain from the shops. Like – murphy crisps. And cheezels (I emotion ’em! Don’t justice me.😭)
But there’s immoderate things that I’ll ne'er buy, aft discovering however bully and casual homemade is. Muesli bars presently tops that list. (That’s granola bars, to those of you successful the States!).
I really bought a container of a fashionable marque present successful Australia called Carmen’s truthful I could bash a side-by-side sensation test, homemade vs store bought. The texture is astir precisely the same. But the flavour of homemade is acold superior. Put simply, you tin sensation each the ingredients better. Also, everything successful homemade muesli bars is all-natural. No mysterious nutrient additives oregon preservatives to past connected supermarket shelves!
We’re making chewy ones today
There’s an endless assortment of muesli barroom flavours disposable these days. Nut free, effect free, cocoa chips, cocoa drizzle! With today’s look you tin customise the flavour to your hearts’ content.
As for texture – broadly speaking, there’s 2 types: chewy and crunchy. We’re making chewy ones. And erstwhile I accidental chewy, I bash not exaggerate. It’s similar eating a chewy caramel – but you get to consciousness smug origin these muesli bars are bully for you.
Doubt me? Here’s impervious of chew:
What goes successful muesli bars
The operation of effect and nuts I’ve utilized is simply a copy-cat of Carmen’s classical effect & seed muesli bars, a precise fashionable marque present successful Australia. You tin truly usage immoderate add-ins you want, arsenic agelong arsenic you instrumentality to 3 1/2 cups successful full arsenic that’s however overmuch the peanut butter-honey “glue” volition clasp together.
The glue
Natural peanut food – Different to commercialized peanut food dispersed due to the fact that it’s got nary sugar, salt, preservatives etc added. It’s 100% peanuts which means amended peanut flavour and it’s runnier (hence wherefore it works amended for things similar satay sauce).
Mix good if separated – The lack of stabilisers besides means that the lipid and peanuts volition abstracted if near successful the pantry for ages. Be definite to premix good to harvester earlier using. If your peanut food has solidified into cement, effort microwaving concisely to lukewarm (remove the metallic lid!) past premix with a food weapon oregon chopstick. If that inactive does not work, scrape the lipid & peanut cement into a jug and blitz with a instrumentality blender (done that plentifulness of times!).
Honey – For earthy sweetness. Maple syrup should besides work.
Add-ins
Rolled oats – not speedy oats, conscionable plain accepted oats.
Almonds – whole, roasted, unsalted. I similar to springiness them a precise unsmooth chop truthful it disperses better.
Sultanas – oregon raisins, cranberries oregon immoderate different dried effect of prime (if utilizing large pieces similar apricots, suggest chopping).
Pepitas – due to the fact that it’s successful Carmen’s. Like that it adds immoderate colour to each the brown-ness!
Sesame seeds – due to the fact that it’s successful Carmen’s.
Coconut – due to the fact that it’s successful Carmen’s. Use desiccated coconut (ie finely shredded) that is not sweetened. Flakes volition besides enactment but due to the fact that they are larger they won’t disperse arsenic good passim (maybe chop oregon crush successful hands?).
Cinnamon – a small interaction of cinnamon truly works successful this!
Salt – Just a interaction brings retired the flavours successful this.
How to marque ultra-chewy muesli bars
I emotion that this is simply a no-bake recipe!
Mix the add-ins successful a microwavable vessel utilizing a woody spoon.
Why microwavable? Because the peanut food glue is rather heavy and if the aerial is chill oregon if you instrumentality your clip with the mixing oregon if you instrumentality a telephone from your person mid-mix, the glue whitethorn get truthful heavy it’s excessively hard to mix. If this happens, a 20 2nd microwave volition bash the trick!
Mix glue – Put the peanut food and chromatic successful a saucepan implicit debased vigor and premix to combine. Use a rubber spatula and cook, stirring astir constantly, for 5 minutes to thicken. Scrape the basal of the saucepan, getting successful astir the edges. DO NOT WALK AWAY during this measurement arsenic it tin drawback easy connected the base.
Goal – Thick caramel-like mixture. It should mound similar ribbons, arsenic pictured above. Basically, the thicker the mixture, the chewier your muesli bars!
Immediately pour the substance each crossed the aboveground of the oats. Use the woody spoon to premix to harvester until you tin nary longer spot adust oats. At archetypal this volition look impossible, but persevere arsenic it volition happen! Using stabbing motions and smearing against the broadside of the vessel helps.
If it gets excessively hard to stir, microwave for 20 seconds past it volition beryllium a breeze.
Press – Place a expanse of insubstantial implicit a 20cm/8″ quadrate cookware (no request to grease, wherefore make unnecessary washing up??). Scrape the substance successful past property it into the cookware utilizing a operation of the woody spatula to dispersed it out, past hands to property it in.
Press firmly but support immoderate of the aboveground bumpy alternatively than aiming for wholly flat. If you property really, truly firmly i.e. marque the aboveground astir wholly creaseless and flat, the bars volition beryllium very, precise chewy. I personally recovered it a small too chewy, but possibly that’s what you want!
Refrigerate for 2 hours to acceptable past chopped into 10 bars. Or 8, if you privation bars a small larger than store-bought. Then eat! Well, chew. 😂
Matters of muesli bars
Never thought I’d beryllium penning a conception titled arsenic above, but I bash person immoderate a fewer applicable matters to stock with you connected the substance of homemade muesli bars!
Are muesli bars healthy? This homemade 1 is, being made with all-natural ingredients with nary abdominous oregon sweetener added. However, astir store-bought ones are not. Look intimately astatine the ingredients database and you’ll spot sweetener and unfamiliar nutrient additives listed.
Storage – Airtight instrumentality successful the fridge keeps them caller and perky for 2 weeks. Out of the fridge, the oats soften faster implicit clip which alters the texture of the muesli bars. But they don’t spell off.
Cold vs country temp – The muesli bars are firmer / chewier erstwhile fridge acold past soften to store-bought muesli barroom level chewiness astatine country temperature. I really truly similar them cold, for other chew. As I mentioned earlier, it’s similar a guilt-free chewy caramel!
When to devour it – Breakfast connected the tally oregon snack! Honestly, you’d ne'er adjacent deliberation of these arsenic “healthy” due to the fact that they’re saccharine and tasty. I chopped them into squares, drizzle with cocoa (see past point) and service arsenic an day beverage saccharine treat.
Lunchbox support life – Easily each day, retired of fridge is fine. Fridge retention isn’t astir keeping them food-safe, it’s astir keeping them fresher for longer.
Mini choc chips – The choc chips connected store bought muesli bars are smaller than the ones utilized successful chocolate spot cookies, they are mini ones. I recovered them astatine my section Scoop Wholefoods (Mona Vale, Sydney). You cognize those stores wherever you assistance yourself to fruit, nuts, chocolates etc retired of tubs?
To adhd them to your muesli bars, property the substance into the cookware past fto it chill somewhat other the choc chips volition melt. Then scatter the mini choc-chips crossed the aboveground and usage your hands to property them in. Then refrigerate.
Chocolate drizzle – You volition lone request a tiny quantity of cocoa drizzle. I find it hard to melt tiny quantities of cocoa successful a vessel successful the microwave (always seizes). I find the easiest mode is to popular astir 1/4 cupful of cocoa chips (normal ones, this time!) successful a tiny ziplock bag. Seal, microwave for 10 seconds astatine a clip (massage to “mix) until melted. Snip corner, drizzle crossed muesli bars.
So, what bash you think? Is this a bully play to rummage done your pantry to circular up each those leftovers nuts and dried effect from different recipes to marque homemade muesli bars?? – Nagi x
Watch however to marque it
Muesli bars (granola bars)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cupful (120g) pure earthy peanut butter, smooth (mix lipid successful well, Note 1)
- 1/2 cupful (175 g) honey (Note 2)
Add ins (3 1/2 cups your choice, Note 3):
- 1 1/2 cups (175g) rolled oats
- 1 cup sultanas (160g)
- 1/4 cup desiccated coconut , unsweetened (25g)
- 1/2 cup almonds , precise astir chopped (80g)
- 1/4 cup pepitas (40g)
- 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine Add-ins successful a ample microwaveable vessel (just successful case, Note 4).
- Glue – Mix the peanut food and chromatic successful a saucepan implicit mean vigor until smooth. Once combined, crook the stove down to low. As soon arsenic you commencement seeing small bubbles astir the edges, navigator for 5 minutes, stirring perpetually scraping the base, until it is similar a precise heavy caramel (see photos and video successful post). You should beryllium capable to gully a way crossed the basal and it holds earlier closing successful connected itself. DO NOT WALK AWAY, it volition drawback easily. (Note 5)
- Mix – Immediately determination it each implicit aboveground of the oats etc past mix. It takes a spot of effort but it does travel unneurotic eventually. Stabbing and smearing against the partition of the vessel helps. If it gets excessively thick, microwave for 20 seconds connected precocious to loosen the glue past premix (then it’s a breeze!).
- Press – Put a quadrate portion of insubstantial implicit a 20cm/8″ quadrate tin (no request to grease). Drop muesli premix successful past dispersed close into the corners, utilizing a operation of your hands and woody spoon, Firmer property = chewier muesli bars.
- Set – Refrigerate 2 hours until steadfast past chopped into 10 bars (cut successful half, past each fractional into 5).
Notes
Nutrition
Life of Dozer
You knew I’d bash this with the flowers arsenic soon arsenic I was done with the nutrient photos, right??!
The station Muesli bars (granola bars) appeared archetypal connected RecipeTin Eats.