Autumn and a healthy delicious fruit & nut bar

It is autumn going into winter here. Our Australian trees don't loose their leaves in autumn, but I love going down to the Balingup Golden Valley Tree Park where there are trees from all around the world turning their leaves from every hue from yellow, orange to red and purple.

I've blogged about the Balingup Tree Park before - if you would like to revisit....
Autumn in Western Australia - 2017
Autumn, season of change - 2016
Autumn in the Golden Valley Tree Park - 2015

 

 Autumn is the time when our minds turn to baking, and making soup. 

I found this delicious and easy fruit and nut bar recipe last year shared by Roxy at So Vegan.  The colours remind me of autumn.

 I've made it a couple of times since then and thought I would share it with you here with some of my own notes added in. 

Do adapt recipes? I do it often if I don't have exactly the ingredients they ask for. I think, just give it a go...

Ingredients:
1 cup oats
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (I accidentally bought pepitas, but they were fine)
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup raw buckwheat groats (I couldn't find any, so I substituted the same amount of plain flour which worked fine if you are not worried about gluten) (So Vegan recommends just using more oats or another grain) (another reader suggested spelt)
1/2 cup raisins (sultanas are fine)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup soft dried apricots (or you could use dates)
1/4 cup maple syrup (or you could use honey)
1/4 cup water

Note:  Buckwheat Groats can be found in the kosher section of your supermarket, if you have one. They are called Kasha. It is not wheat but a berry. There is no gluten. 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Spread out the oats, pumpkin seeds and almonds evenly on the tray, then roast for 10 minutes in the preheated oven.
3. Meanwhile, put the softened apricots, maple syrup and water in a blender and blend until completely smooth, then transfer to a mixing bowl. Note: I found that I needed to soften the apricots by cooking in the maple syrup and water first before I blended them)
4. Next, add the buckwheat groats, raisins and cranberries to the bowl.   
5. Remove the baking tray from the oven and leave to cool, but leave the oven switched on. After cooling, transfer the roasted oats, pumpkin seeds, and almonds to the large mixing bowl. Mix all together. The mixture needs to be sticky. (I added a little extra water)
6. Line a 7” x 7” square cake tin (I just used my usual 9 x 13" rectangle slice tin) with baking paper, then transfer the mixture into the tin. Smooth over the top using the back of a spoon, pushing down to make sure the mixture is compact. Make sure you push down as firmly as possible to prevent the bars from falling apart when you slice them into bars. (this is very important)
7. Place the baking tin in the oven for 20 minutes.
8. Remove the tin from the oven and leave the energy bars to cool completely. Note: the energy bars might crumble if you try to slice them before they have cooled completely.
9. Cut into bars 

So there you have it. Delicious! 

I love making slices. They seem much quicker to make than biscuits or cookies. Do you have a favorite nutritious easy make slice? Perhaps you would like to tell us about it in your comments. 

You might also like:
What's baking in your house?
Making Anzac biscuits

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