Child-Friendly | Naturally Sweetened | Weekly Prep

These bars are a weekly staple in our house. I make one batch on a Sunday, slice them up, and they’re ready to go all week — into lunchboxes, grabbed as an after-school snack, or handed over in the car when someone needs something to tide them over.

They’re soft, naturally sweetened, and full of ingredients I actually feel good about. Rolled oats, dried apricots, coconut, almonds — the kind of snack that fills little ones up without the sugar crash that follows most packaged bars.

They’re not designed to be perfect. They’re just reliable, nourishing, and something I feel good about offering — which is often all that’s needed.

At a Glance

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Bake time: 12 minutes
• Makes: 10 bars
• Tin size: 20x20cm square
• Keeps: up to 5 days in an airtight container

Ingredients

Wet ingredients

• 1/3 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup rice malt syrup (honey or maple syrup also work well)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil

Dry ingredients

• 1½ cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup dried apricots, finely diced
• 1/3 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/4 cup roasted almonds, roughly chopped
• 2 heaped tablespoons almond meal
• A crack of salt

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 175ºC and line a 20x20cm square tin with baking paper.
2. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the coconut sugar, rice malt syrup, and coconut oil. Stir continuously until melted and smooth — this should take no more than 2 minutes. Keep the heat low and don’t walk away.
3. Remove from the heat and fold in all the dry ingredients. Mix well so every oat is coated in the sticky glaze.
4. Transfer the mixture into your prepared tin and spread into an even layer. Using the back of a rubber spatula, compress the mixture down as firmly as you can. The harder you press now, the better the bars will hold together once baked.
5. Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
6. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin before turning out and slicing into 10 bars.

Important: Do not rush the cooling stage. The bars will seem too soft and crumbly when they first come out of the oven — that’s completely normal. As they cool, the coconut sugar sets and binds everything together. Slice them too early and they’ll fall apart. Give them the time they need and they’ll slice cleanly.

A Few Helpful Tips

• Press hard: The compression step is the most important part. Use the back of a spatula or the base of a flat glass to really pack the mixture down before baking.
• Nut-free version: Swap the almonds and almond meal for sunflower seeds and an extra tablespoon of oats for a school lunchbox-friendly version.
• Sweetener swaps: Honey gives a slightly floral flavour, maple syrup is a little lighter. All three work — use what you have.
• Storage: Keep in an airtight jar or container at room temperature for up to 5 days. They also freeze well — layer between baking paper and defrost as needed.

Worth the Sunday Hour

Batch cooking snacks like these is one of the small things that makes the week feel a little more under control. Ten minutes of prep, twelve minutes in the oven, and you’ve got snacks sorted for five days. That’s the kind of homemaking I’m here for.

If you make these, I’d love to know how they go down in your house. And if you’re building out your batch cooking rhythm, have a look at my pantry staples post — having the right ingredients on hand makes all of this so much easier.

A note on inspiration: This recipe was inspired by Sarah’s Day’s wonderful cookbook, Sunee. If you don’t already have a copy, it’s well worth adding to your kitchen shelf.

— Harper