Treat Yourself With These Healthy Crunchies [Recipe]
We’re heading into winter, and there is nothing nicer than a hot cup of tea or coffee and a little treat alongside it to warm you up. So I whipped up this much-loved South African favourite, with a healthy twist; good old crunchies. This recipe has been tried and tested a few times. My little man, along with a couple of other guinea pigs, gave it the thumbs up. He has been enjoying them as a tasty lunch box treats.
A tip: Because these crunchies don’t contain sugar (which is what caramelises and gives a crunchie its crunch) the trick is to dry them out as you would a rusk.
Happy baking!
Recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cup of cake flour*
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
100g butter
100g coconut oil (in its solid state)
1 cup of honey
1/4 cup raisins/cranberries (optional) 1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups of rolled or traditional oats*
1 1/2 cups desiccated coconut
*For wheat/gluten free crunchies substitute normal cake flour for 1 cup of Nature’s Choice gluten free Cake Flour mix and 2 1/2 cups of oats for 2 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats.
Method:
1.Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
2. In a pot melt your butter, coconut oil and honey together, allow to cool slightly and then whisk in the egg and vanilla.
3. Add the desiccated coconut, raisins and oats to the dry ingredients and mix in the melted honey mixture to form a slightly wet and sticky mixture.
4. Place into a 30cm-20cm tray and flatten down with the back of a spoon.
5. Place into a fridge to cool while you preheat the oven to 140°C
6. Bake at 140°C for 20 minutes and then turn your oven down to 100°C and bake for a further +/- 90 minutes.
When about half way through, take them out the oven and cut into squares, then place them back in the oven and continue baking.
Times will vary according to your oven, but you will be able to see once it starts to harden and go golden brown.
A fan oven works best for this.
Once cooled, store in an airtight container.
Keep warm, and enjoy!
