Oat, Apricot and Seed Squares

These are essentially flapjacks with a few healthy ingredients added for good measure: dried apricots, nuts and seeds. This weekend I will be walking 27 miles across the Isle of Wight for charity: if there are any of these left by then I will be taking some with me!

I used a mix of seeds that included sunflower, pumpkin, linseed, hemp and sesame but you could use a combination of any seeds you fancy, replace them with other nuts or leave them out entirely. The same goes for the chopped almonds.

Recipe

Ingredients

3 tablespoons golden syrup

85g butter

30g soft brown sugar

170g dried apricots, chopped

170g porridge oats

30g almonds, chopped

30g mixed seeds, eg sunflower and pumpkin seeds

Method

Set the oven to 170ºC.

Line a tin (about 8″ square) with baking parchment.

Melt the syrup, butter and sugar together.

Mix the rest of the ingredients into the syrup mixture.

Turn out into the prepared tin and press down well with the back of a metal or wooden spoon. If the mixture sticks to the spoon it is a good idea to oil the back of a metal spoon and use that.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes in the tin.

Cooling in the tin

Cut into squares or bars:

Cut into squares

Allow to cool properly on a wire rack.

As well as a good energy boost on a long walk, these make a good alternative to cereal bars as a snack, or even a breakfast on the run.

Oat, Apricot and Seed Squares

Categories: Baking, Biscuits and Cookies, Recipes, Starters and snacks

Tags: apricots, baking, biscuits, cookies, dried apricots, dried fruit, flapjack, oats, pumpkin seeds, recipe, seeds, sunflower seeds