Breakfast Cereal Bars

Having breakfast was never really part of my routine. As I grew older however, having constantly read about breakfast being the most important meal of the day, I made it a point to always have something small to start off the day. Preferring to spend 5 extra minutes in bed rather than making breakfast, more often than not, I usually just grab a banana or a yoghurt on my way out the door to work. 

Cereal bars were always an easy option, until of course I was diagnosed as a coeliac with very limited choice for breakfast cereals and no gluten free cereal bars on the market back then. Although eventually these did make it to Malta, I recently came across the below recipes and now prefer to make my own cereal bars. 

The below recipe is so simple and easy to follow and only takes a couple of minutes to prepare. I usually spare a couple of minutes on a Sunday morning to making these bars in preparation for the week of work ahead. Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical on whether the bars would turn out quite as nice as those shop bought. Much to my surprise, these taste even better!

                                                        
                                                       
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Ingredients: 

- 100g butter, plus extra for greasing 
- 25g soft, light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons golden syrup 
- 1 tablespoon honey 
- 125g corn flakes 
- 50g quinoa
- 75 g dried cranberries
- 50g sultanas 
- 25g sunflower seeds 
- 25 g sesame seeds, 
- 25g linseeds
- 40g unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten



Method: 

Grease an 11inch x 8inch baking tray. Heat oven to 180 degrees. 

In a bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, syrup and honey until creamy. Add all the remaining dry ingredients to the mixture and fold in. Beat 2 eggs and add to the mixture, mixing well until combined. 

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, leveling the surface with the back of a tablespoon. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 35 minutes until deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. 

Once cooled, turn out onto a wooden board and carefully cut into 16 fingers using a serrated knife. 

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.