I’ve never been the biggest fan of muesli bars. Some are nice but they’re often quite high in fat, salt and sugar. However my daughter is gluten-free and she has to take something to school for her afternoon snack which is healthy, nut-free, and will keep for the week out of the fridge. She is really enjoying dates at the moment so I went hunting for a date bar recipe of some sort and stumbled across these muesli bars. Turns out, with a little tweaking for personal preference, they are sensational!

The first time I made them I included the optional fresh apple and I used Leatherwood honey. I didn’t enjoy them as much as everybody else seemed to, they were softer than I hoped and the leatherwood honey was over powering.  I made them again only because everybody else wanted some. This time I used regular honey, omitted the apple and  cooked them for a little longer.  Suddenly I’m a convert.

These muesli bars are now a weekly staple in our household. They’re soft enough for the toothless toddler, but crunchy enough for me.

The recipe is here. Aside from omitting the apple and increasing the cook time I also used pepita instead of the flaxseeds as that was what I had in the cupboard. My dried fruit selection included dates, figs, apricots, sultanas and the latest batch I threw in a few cranberries. Of course for them to be gluten free, not just wheat free, you need to use gluten free oats and rice bubbles (aka rice krispies).

They last a week out of the fridge provided they don’t all get eaten up!