Date & Coconut Granola and not always getting it right...

So I'll be straight with you, this Date & Coconut Granola didn't really go to plan, I was going to pretend it didn't happen and make it again and blog my efforts that time. But for two reasons I decided to blog it - 1) it is important to have some balance and remind you and myself that not all my recipes turn out perfect 2) when will I ever get around to making this recipe again, just for perfection's sake?

The recipe is fine and would have turned out fine had I not baked the dates and raisins in the oven with the oats and coconut. The raisins bloated and then burnt and the chopped dates caramelised and turned so tough they could break your teeth - not something you want in the morning, or ever. If I liked bircher muesli this granola would be much better soaked in milk to soften the jawbreaker dates.

So, stir the fruit in when the granola comes out of the oven and then put it in your jar - and you'll have much better granola than me. For now, I am picking the dates out of it and making do with some charred raisins.

Looking back on my blog, my granola has always been a bit haphazard, the last time I made granola bars but they crumbled so they ended up as granola!

Date & Toasted Coconut Granola
makes approx 700g

230g porridge oats
150g of dates and raisins or other dried fruit
150g coconut flakes
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil (or melted butter if you aren't being healthy)
1 tbsp of maple syrup
2 tbsp of mixed seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame) - optional but nice

Preheat your oven to 110 degrees (Fan/Electric) or gas mark 3.
Mix the oats and coconut flakes (and seeds if using) in a large bowl.
Heat the honey, oil and maple syrup together in a small pan til a syrup and well combined, do not boil.
Pour over the oats and coconut mix and combine well - you can use a wooden spoon but you might have to get in with your hands to make sure everything is coated.
Spread the mix out over baking trays, you'll probably need two.
Put in the centre shelf of the oven for 1 hour, and take out every 15 minutes and stir, to ensure even toasting.
Important bit: When the granola is nicely toasted leave to cool a little and then sprinkle over your fruit.
Put into an airtight jar or container.

Eat with milk or yoghurt and extra fruit. It is also nice with a dollop of jam!

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Apple & Maple Syrup Flapjacks

I have a slightly traumatic history when it comes to flapjacks. Ok maybe not traumatic, but unsuccessful certainly. Every time I've made them they've stuck hard to the pan, requiring a chisel to get them out and extra strong teeth to eat them. I think I even chucked a baking tin in the bin once because they stuck so hard.

The other thing about flapjacks and me is the time I worked for an oat seed company, every year at a big event we did there would be trays and trays of flapjacks to give away to visitors. Being as we had to be at the show at about 7am every day and there was little time for eating most of us survived on the flapjacks, and by day three I didn't want to see them ever again til the next year.

Anyway, a craving Mr. Giraffe had today and a rush of confidence in my baking skills lead me to make these. I used the recipe from The Pink Whisk (fancy iPad to view them is optional but useful when you are in the kitchen!) but subbed the golden syrup for maple syrup, plus I added another tablespoon of it in for extra flavour. As part of my extra flavouring a lovely local apple was grated into the mixture along with some cinnamon.

Apple & Maple Syrup Flapjacks
adapted from The Pink Whisk

160g butter
115g sugar
2 tbsp of maple syrup
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
240g of porridge oats
1 apple, grated

Preheat your oven to 160c fan / 180c / gas mark 4

Melt the sugar, butter and maple syrup in a saucepan over a low heat. Once the sugar is dissolved, turn off the heat and add in the other ingredients and stir well.

Pour into a greased and lined brownie tin.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Leave to cool for a few minutes and then cut into pieces. Then leave to cool in the tin before removing the pieces.

Ruth points out that the mix will look quite pale, and although you don't get the nice golden brown-ness, it does mean that the mix doesn't set rock hard in the pan like my past attempts! This way you'll get lovely soft flapjacks.

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Cherry & Oat Breakfast Muffins

I have been known to eat cake for breakfast on more than one (or two, or three or four) occasions, and any other number of sweet things. I'm not great at breakfast, I like sleeping in, but I do like breakfast food. I try and make up for this on weekends with pancakes or a nice bacon sandwich. Or eggs, yummmm. See I like breakfast, I do.

I have been experimenting with cupcakes and fairy cakes for a while but one of the things on my list has been a good breakfasty muffin with lots of things packed into it, but lower on the sweetness than a normal cake.

I was a bit greedy and got a kilo of cherries from the local Pick Your Own which meant I had something of a glut, brought on entirely by my eyes being bigger than my stomach. Some of the lucky things are spending time steeping in vodka, ready for a Christmas tipple, and others have gone into a juicy summer fruit cobbler (more on that soon). I had some left and they were destined for muffins!

I like real cherries and far too often you see those awful rubbery, almost flourescent, glace cherries in cakes, a real cherry cake is something much much better. I might have to go to the pick your own one more time and make a proper sweet dessert cake too ;)

These muffins have no too much sugar in them, lots of oats and some wheatgerm, and I pepped them up with some cinnamon and nutmeg.


Cherry & Oat Breakfast Muffins
makes about 8 muffins 

100g unsalted softened butter
75g granulated or caster sugar
2 medium eggs
200g fresh cherries - pitted and halved
100g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
75g oats
25g wheatgerm (or substitute with more oats)
approx 50ml whole or semi skimmed milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to gas mark 6 / 400f / 200c. Line a muffin tin with muffin cases.

Cream together your butter and sugar til light and fluffy. Then add in your eggs one at a time and combine.
Fold in your cherries, then add in your flour and baking powder and stir gently to combine.
Then fold in your oats and wheatgerm, and spices. Finally add in the milk to loosen the mixture slightly. If your mixture is quite wet you may not need to add the milk.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons into the mixture, you want the muffins to be fairly substantial, leave about 1cm from the top. Sprinkle with oats. Bake for 10-15minutes in the oven until golden brown on top, and when a knife comes out clean when inserted.

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Cooking - Healthy Baking - Granola Bars

This recipe has been sitting in my favourites folder for quite a few months, it looked fantastic but always got passed up in favour of pecan pie, sticky toffee pudding or some fluffy marshmallows. Because really, when it comes to it, these things generally win over an oaty bar.

In an effort to be healthier and because I've been chewing on ridiculously overpriced cereal bars recently I thought I'd finally give my own granola bars a go.

This recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, once again, as many of my recipes are.

I used half and half honey and golden syrup (whereas the recipe only used honey) because I only had a teeny jar of honey. The fruit I used was a bag of mixed fruit - raisins, currants and candied orange, and some jewel like dried cranberries.


The recipe suggested extra sugar if you want a sweet bar or melted butter. I didn't include either but I think I'll include a bit more honey next time and I think the butter would help them stick a bit better. Mine were a bit crumbly!

These are lovely crunchy bars and the fruit gives just enough sweetness. I had a bit of a disaster when cutting them up so I was left with actual granola/muesli which I had for breakfast the next day - it makes great cereal too!

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