Todays recipe is a copy cat recipe for the Aussie Bites that you can buy at membership warehouses. Someone brought in a container to work this week and we've all been enjoying them in the break room. I had one today and while studying it for ingredients decided it was basically a chewy granola bar, but made in a little muffin tin.
I went online to find the recipe and all I found (over and over and over again) was the same recipe posted on numerous sites. It had mixed reviews though - most said it was too dry and crumbly. Looking over the ingredients I would concur. I think it has too much butter and flour in it to be 'chewy'. So the next step was to look up a chewy granola bar recipe and compare the two. The end result is my own version which is this*;
Imitation Aussie Bites
1 cup quick rolled oats
1/3 cup quick oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender
2/3 c whole wheat flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar, optional
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
1 c unsweetened coconut (I think you could use regular sweetened too)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup dried raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup melted butter
1/4 c canola oil
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons hot water
Combine the dry ingredients and fruit into a bowl. Heat the butter and honey in the microwave, stir in the oil and add to the dry ingredients. Place a heaping tablespoon full into mini muffin pans and press down firmly. Bake at 350 degree's 7-10 minutes until set and let cool.
*I'm reserving the right to tweak this recipe and I'll update if needed after it's tried and true!
