Nut free muesli bars for schools are virtually impossible to find, and who doesn't like a cookie? Well if you don't like cookies your probably not my friend anyway.
Most recipes I found use pre-bought muesli which A. I never have and B. always seems to contain nuts - again a no-no for school. So my apprentice chefs and I made our own recipe with homemade nut-free muesli, making these great for the kids lunchboxes for school if they survive afternoon tea. They also store well for a few days in an air tight container... sheesh like anything lasts a few days in this house.
Muesli Cookies
Ingredients
125g butter, chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup golden syrup
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
handful of dried blueberries
handful of dried cranberries
8 dried turkish apricots, chopped roughly
6 dried pineapple chunks, chopped roughly
1/4 cup coconut flakes
3/4 cup self raising flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
In a small saucepan over a low heat, combine the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup, stirring until the butter has melted and all combined. This should only take about 2 minutes.
In a big mixing bowl combine the rolled oats, dried fruit, coconut, flour and cinnamon then stir through the melted butter mixture and combine.
Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls, giving them a squeeze as you roll helps a little in keeping them together, then place on the tray. Flatten them very gently, and sometimes another little shaping together is needed to help any of the "bits" that always fall out. The mixture is quite wet and crumbly, but they will hold together once they cool and then bake.
Pop in the oven for approx 18 minutes or until just golden. Let them cool for 5 minutes on the tray, then using a spatula (using hands always ends up in broken cookies when we do them as they will still be soft) gently place on a cooling rack until cooled down or the kids drive you crazy asking if they are ready yet.
