Homer Simpson once said that from now on he will only eat food that comes in a form of a bar. I too like eating stuff that comes in bars, from snickers, mars, milky way, muesli, and most of those breakfast bars. The only thing is that, it’s very expensive! Yes, it is very convenient, but sometimes, it’s just too sweet! And i’ve got a sweet tooth. I’m not saying that making it at home would use less sugar, but at least you can control how much you actually need to it to stick together and not add more sugar to it for it to taste nicer.

For this recipe, I used whatever I had on hand such as oats, rice puffs, mixed nuts, dried fruits, fancy molasses – this one was just stored in the fridge for a couple of months because I bought the wrong one and never used it, beet syrup – I misread the label, I thought it was golden syrup because it was labeled as Goldsirup aus Zuckerrüben (gold syrup from sugar beets), and butter. The original recipe calls for honey and white sugar, but I used up my honey over the week because of my cold and sore throat. Plus, I don’t quite like the strong honey taste in food. It was very easy to make and I was glad I could finally use up my fancy molasses so I could use the jar it came in. I can’t vouch that using fancy molasses and beet sugar syrup is healthier than using regular white sugar and honey. It does however change the taste of it and I actually really like it, plus it turned out not too sweet.

Another great thing about making your own muesli bars is that you can customise it as you like. I started off with the basic mixed nuts and fruits. Once I’m done eating this batch I will try out others. It’s a good way to clear my cupboard from small quantities of nuts, fruits, and cereal.

Ingredients

½ cup + 1 Tablespoon (125 grams) Butter

½ cup Golden Syrup (see tips)

¼ cup Sugar (see tips)

2 ½ cups Rolled Oats

1 ¼ cup Rice Krispies

2 cups Mixed Nuts & Dried Fruits

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a 31cm x 22cm (12 x 8-inch) baking pan with parchment paper and grease well. In a large and deep non stick pan or pot, melt butter, golden syrup and sugar on medium heat. Mix well and let it boil for 4-5 minutes or till it slightly thickens. Remove from heat and add oats, mixed fruits, nuts, and rice krispies. Mix well and make sure the ingredients are well coated. Pour mixture into prepared pan and flatten with a spatula or a scraper. Press firmly to ensure the mixture sticks together. Bake for 20 minutes or till golden brown. Remove from oven and let the muesli cool off in the baking pan for an hour. Remove from baking and cut into 20 slices. Or as your hearts desire.

Tips:

Feel free to use any nuts or dried fruits.

Use any cereal such as corn flakes, cheerios, smacks, or honey bsss pops (honey stars).

You can substitute golden syrup for honey, fancy molasses, or corn syrup.

You can substitute sugar for any choice of sugar such as raw sugar, muscodavo or demerara. I used beet sugar syrup.

You can omit sugar.

Store in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks.

If you have picky eaters, mince up dried fruit.

Try coating it in chocolate for extra yumminess and calories!

Enjoy and happy baking!