Last week I sent my Foodie Penpals parcels to Christine.  Christine is a vegan and I am so far away from being a vegan that it required some thought. I like to put some form of baked thing in my parcels.  Enter The Intolerant Gourmet by Pippa Kendrick. The book is full of recipes without egg, dairy or gluten so if I avoided a recipe with sausages, I’d be ok.

The recipe for Apple and Cinnamon Granola Bars seemed to fit the bill. I had a go and they were, I sent some to Christine and ate the rest over the course of the week. For breakfast with raspberries and one after lunch as a treat.  So I made them again and of course they got some adjustment. I upped the amount of apple from one to two, added more cinnamon and a little bit of ginger. As I was making them, I ran out of agave  (the recipe called for 150ml), so I used what I had and subbed with honey.

I like these ones even more…

Apple and Granola Squares

Adapted from The Intolerant Gourmet

What

For the apple pieces

2 eating apples

2 tbsp lime juice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

The rest

100g jumbo oats

240g mixed dried fruit and nuts

2 tbsps flaxseeds

2tbsps peanut butter

100ml agave syrup

1 tbsp honey

How

Heat the oven to 170oC, line a baking tray

Peel and core the apples, then chop into largish chunks

Add lime juice, cinnamon and ginger and make sure that they’re coated.

Spread in single layer on baking tray and bake for 25 minutes

Set aside and allow to cool

Turn the oven up to 180oC

Put all the remaining ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture pulls together.

Transfer the mixture into a bowl and stir in the cooked apple pieces.

Once combined tip the mixture into an 8in square baking tin and smooth it into the corners of the tin, ensuring the top is even.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then remove and cut the mixture into 16 pieces.

Return to the oven for another 10 minutes or until golden.

Take out of the oven and leave to cool.