Oat cereal bars with honey and peanut butter

Method

1. 1

   Prepare the tin and weigh

   Wash your hands and clean the work surface. Line a 20 × 20 cm square tin with baking parchment, leaving handles to lift the mixture. Weigh the ingredients and chop the 50 g almonds into about 5 mm pieces; cut large raisins so they do not tear the bars apart. Stir the peanut butter in its jar to reincorporate separated oil. Use rolled oats suitable for this preparation according to their label, not whole oat groats.

   
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   Oat cereal bars with honey and peanut butter: Prepare the tin and weigh

2. 2

   Toast the oats and seeds

   Heat a wide dry frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the 200 g rolled oats, 50 g almonds and 30 g sunflower seeds. Stir almost continuously for about 8 minutes until fragrant and lightly coloured, without burning. Lower the heat if they brown too quickly. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool slightly while preparing the binder.

   
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   Oat cereal bars with honey and peanut butter: Toast the oats and seeds

3. 3

   Warm the honey and peanut butter

   Put the 100 g honey and 100 g peanut butter in a small saucepan. Heat gently for about 2 minutes, stirring until fluid and smooth, without boiling or caramelising. Remove from the heat and add the 3 g vanilla and 1 g salt. The hot mixture can burn; handle it with a spatula rather than your fingers.

   
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   Oat cereal bars with honey and peanut butter: Warm the honey and peanut butter

4. 4

   Mix in the raisins and binder

   Add the 50 g raisins to the bowl of warm oats. Pour in all the honey-peanut mixture and stir with a spatula for 1–2 minutes, scraping the bottom and sides, until every flake is coated and no dry pockets remain. The sticky mixture should hold together when pressed with the spatula; it should not be liquid or a whipped batter.

   
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   Oat cereal bars with honey and peanut butter: Mix in the raisins and binder

5. 5

   Press into an even layer

   Transfer to the lined tin and spread into the corners. Lay another sheet of parchment on top and press with the flat bottom of a glass or a spatula for 2–3 minutes. Aim for a layer about 1–1.5 cm thick without gaps, especially around the edges. Firm pressure helps the bars hold together; do not add liquid to soften them.

   
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   Oat cereal bars with honey and peanut butter: Press into an even layer

6. 6

   Cool and refrigerate before cutting

   Leave the tin at room temperature for about 15 minutes to lose its intense heat. Cover and refrigerate at 4 °C or below for at least 120 minutes, until the entire slab is cold and firm. It may take longer depending on the refrigerator and thickness; do not cut while warm. The 165-minute total includes this cooling and chilling.

   
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   Oat cereal bars with honey and peanut butter: Cool and refrigerate before cutting

7. 7

   Cut twelve bars

   Lift the cold slab out by the parchment handles and put it on a clean board. Remove the top paper and cut with a large knife into 3 rows and 4 columns, making 12 bars about 6.7 × 5 cm. Press the knife down rather than sawing; wipe the blade between cuts if sticky. If the slab softens, refrigerate again before continuing. Crumbs can be served separately with yogurt, which is not included in the nutrition calculation.

   
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   Oat cereal bars with honey and peanut butter: Cut twelve bars

8. 8

   Serve and store chilled

   Serve the bars cold, or let only the portion you will eat warm slightly. Wrap individually or store in a closed container with paper between layers at 4 °C or below for up to 5 days; follow any shorter ingredient-label limit. To freeze, wrap individually for up to 1 month and thaw in the refrigerator. The bars soften in heat and were not designed to stay firm for hours outside the refrigerator.

   
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   Oat cereal bars with honey and peanut butter: Serve and store chilled

The step photos are illustrative.