Desserts & Baking

Oat crunchies

Makes 16
Easy
15 minutes
30 minutes

"These are the greatest crunchies ever! Ideally, these will have a crunchy exterior and a chewy centre. This recipe is really simple but you can add anything you like – seeds, nuts, chocolate chips, raisins, ANYTHING. These can be baked into a larger tray, they’ll be thinner but they’ll bake faster and may be a little crunchier. Just remember that if you are using a larger tin (30 x 45), the crunchies will be thinner and need a slightly lower cooking time – check their progress after 15 minutes in the oven"  – Khanya Mzongwana

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Ingredients

Method
  • 180 g flour
  • 180 g oats
  • 180 g brown sugar
  • 180 g desiccated coconut or shaved coconut
  • 250 g butter
  • 1 T golden syrup
  • 1 t bicarbonate of soda
  • 100 g white chocolate

Method

Ingredients

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a 23 x 28 cm baking tray with greaseproof paper. Place the flour, oats, sugar and coconut in a large bowl and combine. If you’re adding seeds, nuts or chocolate chips, add them now.

2. Melt the butter and golden syrup in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once the butter starts bubbling, add the bicarbonate of soda. It will start to foam a little. Remove from the heat and mix with the dry ingredients. The mixture will seem a little crumbly at first, but once you press it into the tray it will stick together. You can use a spatula or spoon to press it down into the pan and use your fingers to press down the edges.

3. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cut into squares while still warm. The crunchies will still be quite soft when they come out of the oven, but will crisp up as they cool. Allow to cool completely.

4. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt for 1 minute in the microwave. Using a spoon, drizzle the melted chocolate onto the crunchies. You can skip this step, but I feel like the chocolate adds a little razzle dazzle. Remove from the tray carefully, to prevent them from crumbling. Store in an airtight container so they retain their crunchiness.

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Photograph: Jan Ras

Khanya Mzongwana

Recipe by: Khanya Mzongwana

If you're anything like our deputy food editor Khanya Mzongwana, you're obsessed with uniqueness and food with feeling. Cook her family-tested favourites, midweek winners and her mouth-wateringly fresh takes on plant-based eating.

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Comments

  • default
    Zamo
    26 November 2023

    I tried this recipe and it worked out great. I don’t know if it’s because I tweaked it a bit or what. I didn’t have coconut so I used the fruity musli from Wookiee instead. I didn’t have brown sugar so I used white. After mixing I realised the mix was too wet and I added more of the dry ingredients. They turned out perfect! So tasty! I wish I could share the picture here !

    1. default
      Zamo
      26 November 2023

      Woolies I mean

  • default
    Maritza Kruger
    29 August 2023

    This recipe does not work. I agree with the below comments that the butter is by far not enough to combine the dry ingredients and melt the sugar. The search for a decent crunchie recipe goes on…

  • default
    Sarah van Rensburg
    17 April 2023

    This recipe was a total disaster. The quantity of butter is nowhere near enough fat to combine all the dry ingredients ( 1.240kgs in total!!)
    I have a very old crunchie recipe that you melt the butter with the syrup and the sugar – maybe that helps with the combining.
    I am so dissapponted. – not sure what I am going to do with this whole tray of crumbled crunchies!! :(
    Sorry – just thought you should know.

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