Breakfast Bars

"Monthly Featured Chef Event : Nigella Lawson", our new monthly theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). I like this new theme where once a month, IHCC will revisit one of the past featured chefs, and this month's Monthly Featured Chef, is Nigella Lawson. 

I've made Nigella's Breakfast Bars, which I have been meaning to make for the longest time! These bars are really super easy to make, but the baking takes about an hour, which is not a problem anyway!

 Breakfast Bars.... it's an Anytime-for-Snacking Bars for me!

 About to go into the oven.

Condensed milk is first warmed over a low heat, then mix with all the other ingredients ; rolled oats, flaked coconut, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, lightly toasted peanuts. Tip everything into the prepared pan, press down firmly, level it and bake for about an hour at 250F until golden brown. The only sweetener here is the condensed milk, and the sweetness turns out to be just right for me, not too sweet. The baking pan is greased with oil or simply use a disaposable baking foil pan. If you chose to use a normal baking pan, I would advise about greasing it really well with oil. The bars are a little difficult to come out of the pan. Some parts would stick to the pan, but with a little gentle force using the metal spatula, I did manage to take them all out.

These bars are yummy! Chewy, crunchy, and smells pretty good with the flaked coconuts. These are great anytime of the day, and it acually tasted nicer on the next day, but it gets more chewier. Best eaten in small bites! Take a big bite and you would be busy with "jaw-ercise"! LOL! Don't ask me how I knew!  :) 

Breakfast Bars
(adapted from "Nigella Express", Nigella Lawson)
1 (14-fl-oz) can condensed milk
2-1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame)
1 cup natural unsalted peanuts

1. Preheat the oven to 250F and oil a 9 x 13-inch baking pan or just use a disposable aluminium foil one.
2. Warm the condensed milk in a large pan.
3. Meanwhile, mix all the other ingredients together and add the warmed condensed milk, using a rubber spatula to fold and distribute.
4. Spread the mixture into the oiled or foil pan and press down with a spatula or, better still, your hands (wearing those disposable latex gloves to stop you from sticking) to make the surface even.
5. Bake for 1 hour, remove, and after about 15 minutes, cut into four across and four down to make 16 chunky bars. Let cool completely.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week,

Monthly Featured Chef Event : Nigella Lawson

and
Little Thumbs Up (October 2015 : Coconut) organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Jess from Bakericious.

This post is linked to the event 


and 

Cook-Your-Books #27 @ kitchen flavours