Oat Crunchies

Some recipes remind us of childhood and, for me, this is one of them. I have vidid memories of my mother serving these babies up with afternoon tea in the garden: they’re a comforting taste of sweet and oaty goodness.

Constantly on the look out for healthy snack ideas for my son (ones that won’t land up being fed to my Bull Terrier after being called ‘Kaka’), I wanted to try my hand at making my own scrumptious version of the classic oat crunchie… but with a healthy twist.

Coconut oil has a number of excellent health benefits for growing little people, and that’s why I used coconut oil in this recipe in place of butter. Having said that, if you prefer butter then that could totally work too.

I have opted for a mixture of wholewheat and coconut flour in this recipe: wholewheat flour is packed with fiber and vitamins that are not found in the white variety. Coconut flour is a fantastic source of fibre and protein, and it adds a delicious flavour to any recipe. It is also an ideal alternative to wheat-based flour for gluten intolerant children. If your child is gluten intolerant, then simply substitute the wholewheat flour with additional coconut flour or even almond flour.

For additional texture, fibre and natural sweetness, I added in some dried fruit that becomes totally delicious once it caramelizes in the oven. I used chopped dried apple and dates but you could use any dried fruit you prefer (the younger your child, the smaller these pieces should be).

Although I have specified 30 minutes for baking, each oven is different and the mixture can dry out and burn quite quickly. I would advise checking on it every five minutes after the 20 minute mark.

If you are planning on serving them as biscuits, then you’ll need to cut the mixture into squares as soon as it comes out of the oven, before it cools.

What I love most about this recipe is that you can either serve the biscuits ‘straight up’ or you can crush them to create the most irresistable muesli/crumble to serve with yoghurt and fruit for breakfast (allow an additional 5-10 minutes baking time for the muesli/crumble). Either way, biscuits or muesli can be stored in an airtight container and kept in the pantry for up to three months.

What you’ll need:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup wholewheat flour
• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 cup diced dried fruit of your choice (chopped into small pieces).
• 1.5 cups coconut oil
• 1/2 cup honey/maple syrup

Method:

• Preheat oven to 160°C
• Combine the flour, oats, coconut flour, bicarbonate soda, dried fruit pieces, cinnamon and vanilla essence in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
• Place the honey/maple syrup and the coconut oil in a sauce pan on the stove at a medium heat.
• The coconut oil and honey/maple syrup mixture will begin turning to liquid, stir and once it begins bubbling, remove it from the heat (the mixture should be a runny glue-like consistency).
• Pour the coconut oil and honey/maple syrup mixture into the large mixing bowl, covering the other ingredients.
• Using clean hands, combine until you have a crumbly mixture.
• Place the mixture onto a medium-sized, greased oven tray and pat it down using your hands (ensuring you have about a 3cm-4cm thick, evenly spread mixture).
• Place the oven tray into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and cut into squares using a sharp knife.
• Allow to cool before serving.

*The above recipe will need to be adapted should your child have an allergy to any of the ingredients mentioned.

*Never leave your child unsupervised when eating.