Aussie Bites are a combination between an oatmeal cookie, granola bar, and muffin. How could you go wrong?
These are a funny little food. If I didn’t have my trusty Sam’s Club membership, I don’t know that I ever would’ve heard of Aussie Bites, but I am very thankful for the piece of plastic that gains me entrance into bulk food land. After discovering the awesomeness of these nuggets at the club, I can happily purchase mass quantities of them.
Or, as is my tendency, I can determine that I will recreate them at home. Which is what I did… because baking is fun and homemade food is always better!
They are a funny little food because they are like nothing else I’ve ever had before. Kind of a cross between an oatmeal cookie, a granola bar, and a muffin. I know. What does that even mean? These bites are soft and sweet like oatmeal cookies, and contain lots of oats (obvi), but are chewy like a granola bar, and a little cakey like a muffin. On top of the killer texture, they boast tons of dried fruit, nuts, coconut, honey, and even chia seeds.
To recap, they’re a bite-sized-oatmeal-cookie-granola-bar-muffin with tons of flavor, and that pack nutritional power too! Oh, and welllll, they’re supposed to be bite-sized but apparently I don’t own mini muffin pans (that was a shocking discovery), so they’re a little bigger than traditional Aussie Bites because I used a regular muffin pan. 😉
They’re sweet like a cookie, but you don’t have to feel guilty about these because they are naturally sweetened by the dried fruit and a little honey! They are also super versatile. You can really toss in any combination of fruits and nuts that you like. I am personally very partial to a mix of dried cranberries, blueberries, and walnuts. Divine.
They make for the best snack ever – once you know what they are. I packed some of these for my S.O. to take to work and he doesn’t usually question any foodstuff that I hand to him. If it satisfies hunger, he’ll take it, no questions asked. He looked at them and posed a series of questions: “What are these? Are they supposed to look like that? Shouldn’t they rise or something?”
How dare he suggest that something I made didn’t turn out the way it was supposed to? Who does he think he is? Kidding, of course. It’s a fair question because these aren’t the prettiest food in the world and Aussie Bites are not exactly mainstream. But he loved them because they’re delicious, and he had several co-workers stealing from his stash. They’re a filling, hearty, and sweet snack, and one that you don’t have to feel guilty about either!
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Aussie Bites Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Blueberries Dried
- 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
- 1/3 cup Prunes
- 1/2 cup Walnuts
- 2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
- 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour Or oat flour
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar Packed
- 10 tablespoons Unsalted Butter Melted
- 1/4 cup Honey
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3 tablespoons Hot Water
- 1 tablespoon Chia Seeds
- 1/2 cup Shredded Coconut
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the dried blueberries, cranberries, prunes, and walnuts until they are chopped to small bits.
- In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, and brown sugar.
- In a small bowl, combine melted butter and honey.
- In another small bowl, combine baking soda and hot water.
- Add the baking soda mixture to the butter mixture.
- Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Add the chopped fruit and nuts, chia seeds, and shredded coconut. Mix well.
- Fill regular-sized muffin cups about halfway full with the mixture, pressing it down to flatten.
- Bake at 350°F for 9-10 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.
- Cool in the pans on wire racks.