A quick and healthy treat!

Fruit & Honey Bars

People often say that they don’t have time to bake. There are lots of things to bake which don’t need huge amounts of prep and are quick to bake. Here’s a quick and healthy treat to make in two shakes! 

Any combination of dried fruits and nuts will do: raisins, sultanas, apricots, cherries, cranberries, dates, almonds, pistachios, walnuts or flaked coconut. *Leave out the nuts if you have an allergy. **I usually leave out the demerara sugar as I haven’t a sweet tooth. I like the tangy taste with adding lemon juice.

Fruit & Honey Bars

12 oz/350g oats

6 oz/175g raisins

*4 oz/110g chopped nuts

5 oz/150g butter melted

**4 oz/110g demerara sugar

4 oz/110g honey or golden syrup

2 tsps lemon juice

½ tsp vanilla essence

Toast the oats in a baking tin at 180C (160C Fan), Mark 4, 350F, stirring occasionally until starting to brown. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Mix all ingredients. Line a Swiss roll tin 10 x 12 inches/ 25 x 30 cms with baking paper. Spread the mixture on top and smooth the surface with a spatula or palette knife. Bake for about 20 minutes at 180C (160C Fan), Mark 4, 350F. Cool and cut into bars.

I hope you’ll enjoy baking them. They're great for a picnic or lunchtime treat.  What would you include as a combination of fruit and nuts?

Finding time to bake

Grandma's Fruit Scones

 Although there's a widespread revival of interest in baking now, people sometimes say to me ‘I don’t have time to bake’. I always reply that the best thing about many of Grandma Abson's recipes comes from mixing basic ingredients without too much fuss. In her early life, Grandma was a ‘below stairs cook’ for an Edwardian family called Hick, who frequently entertained prominent local citizens so she became an expert in producing something quickly for unexpected guests in a short time.

 

Ingredients for Fruit Scones

Scones fit the bill perfectly and can be made from store cupboard items. Grandma’s scones always come out light and airy and win many plaudits. I like to taste different varieties of scones but my favourites are Fruit Scones as the sultanas keep them moist.

SCONES

8 oz/225g self raising flour

½ tsp salt

2oz/50g butter

2oz/50g sugar

2oz/50g sultanas

2 eggs

Milk to mix

Add the salt to the flour. Rub in the butter. Add the sugar and sultanas. Beat the eggs and milk and add to make a dough. Roll out and cut into sections with a cutter. Bake for 10-12 minutes on the third runner from the top of the oven. (450F, Mark 8, 230C)

Meryl’s tips :

• If you want an egg free recipe, leave out the eggs and just add more milk (approx 150ml) to make the dough.
• This can be a sugar free recipe too. The dried fruit gives the scones a taste of sweetness.

Bake Scones in 20 minutes

Treat yourself to some home baking this week? Who can resist the joys of a plate of scones, warm, aromatic and straight out of the oven?