These Oaty Chocolate Squares make a great school lunchbox treatIt’s been well over a year since my daughter started pre school and I rather nervously wrote a post about it over here. I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed since then. The 01st September (officially ‘Spring Day’ here in Africa) this year is when her new school year begins again, and she will once again be attending twice weekly whilst I home school her for the other 3 days on the farm.
So, I am already starting to think about things like school lunchbox contents and breakfast/lunch options which can easily be eaten in the car. Here is one of the new recipes I’ve come up with for a school lunchbox treat – Oaty Chocolate Squares.
For this recipe I’ve used a mixture of white and dark chocolate Vermicelli strands – the exact same type you would use for decorating a cake with (they don’t melt when you bake them). You could just as easily use chocolate chips though – I don’t because we cannot buy them here that easily. (Come to think of it, you could also just use finely chopped chocolate !)
As this is a new recipe I’m ‘experimenting’ with, I thought afterwards that next time I might add a handful of finely chopped dried fruit (like apricots or apples) to the mix, and see how that works out. I think that the combination of oats, dried fruit and chocolate would work quite well – and taste almost like some of those shop bought cereal bars ?
Oaty Chocolate Squares
¼ (62,5 ml) cup Margarine (or Butter)
½ cup (125 ml) brown Sugar
½ cup (125 ml) Flour
¼ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
¼ tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
1 Egg, beaten
¼ tsp Vanilla Essence
½ cup (125 ml) rolled Oats
½ cup (125 ml) mixed white and dark Chocolate Vermicelli (or Chocolate chips)
Cream the margarine (or butter) and sugar together in a bowl. Then add the sifted the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt to the mixture, along with the egg and vanilla essence. Mix until well blended, then stir in the oats and chocolate chips (or Vermicelli). The mixture will be quite crumbly. Spread the mixture into a lightly greased baking tray, pressing it down lightly with the back of a large spoon (dipped in flour to prevent sticking), so that the surface is smooth and even. Bake at 180’C/350’F/Gas Mark 4 for about 20 minutes until done. Remove from oven and cut into squares whilst still hot. Allow to cool a little before removing from the baking tray.
So, I am already starting to think about things like school lunchbox contents and breakfast/lunch options which can easily be eaten in the car. Here is one of the new recipes I’ve come up with for a school lunchbox treat – Oaty Chocolate Squares.
For this recipe I’ve used a mixture of white and dark chocolate Vermicelli strands – the exact same type you would use for decorating a cake with (they don’t melt when you bake them). You could just as easily use chocolate chips though – I don’t because we cannot buy them here that easily. (Come to think of it, you could also just use finely chopped chocolate !)
As this is a new recipe I’m ‘experimenting’ with, I thought afterwards that next time I might add a handful of finely chopped dried fruit (like apricots or apples) to the mix, and see how that works out. I think that the combination of oats, dried fruit and chocolate would work quite well – and taste almost like some of those shop bought cereal bars ?
Oaty Chocolate Squares
¼ (62,5 ml) cup Margarine (or Butter)
½ cup (125 ml) brown Sugar
½ cup (125 ml) Flour
¼ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
¼ tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
1 Egg, beaten
¼ tsp Vanilla Essence
½ cup (125 ml) rolled Oats
½ cup (125 ml) mixed white and dark Chocolate Vermicelli (or Chocolate chips)
Cream the margarine (or butter) and sugar together in a bowl. Then add the sifted the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt to the mixture, along with the egg and vanilla essence. Mix until well blended, then stir in the oats and chocolate chips (or Vermicelli). The mixture will be quite crumbly. Spread the mixture into a lightly greased baking tray, pressing it down lightly with the back of a large spoon (dipped in flour to prevent sticking), so that the surface is smooth and even. Bake at 180’C/350’F/Gas Mark 4 for about 20 minutes until done. Remove from oven and cut into squares whilst still hot. Allow to cool a little before removing from the baking tray.
