Autumn Fingers

Ingredients

½ cup     flour                    70g

½ cup     coconut               45g

1 cup      rolled oats           100g

2 oz        walnuts                60g

Pinch      salt                        pinch

½ cup     brown sugar       100g

¼ cup     sugar                    50g

4oz         butter                   115g

2 tsp       golden syrup       30g

½ tsp      baking soda        ½ tsp

½ tsp      vanilla essence   ½ tsp

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and line a shallow 12 x 8in/30 x21 cm tin with baking paper, or grease it lightly. Chop the walnuts.

1.      Combine the flour, coconut, rolled oats, walnuts and salt in a large bowl. Add the sugars and mix well.

2.      Put the butter, golden syrup and sifted baking soda in a saucepan and melt gently together over a medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to froth. Pour it onto the dry ingredients and add the vanilla essence.

3.      Stir until everything is combined and press the mixture evenly into the prepared tin and bake for 15-20 minutes until it is golden brown, rotating the tin after 10 minutes. Try not to overcook it.

4.      Cut into bars while hot, pressing the edges gently back down if they roughen. Cool in the tin and store airtight. Makes 24

This was served at a group I went to for supper and I loved it so I asked for the recipe. It has a sweet, nutty, chew, ANZAC biscuit taste. It is from the book A Second Helping by Alexa Johnston, a sequel to her first book, Ladies a Plate.

I followed the instructions as it was written adding the vanilla essence into the melted mixture before I poured it all into the dry ingredients..
I baked it for the full 20 minutes but my oven is a bit hot so it was slightly over cooked. I will probably try it just for 15 minutes next time giving it a bit more if needed.

I will be keeping this one and maybe even buying the book and her first one!

Vi-Bran Muffins

140g (5 oz/1large cup) Flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

115g (4oz 1. 5 cups) Vi Bran

55g (2oz 1/4 cup) sugar

1 egg

1 level tsp soda

225g (8oz) milk

1 tbsp golden syrup

1 tbsp butter

Sift flour, baking powder and salt.

Add Vi-Bran and sugar.

Beat egg well, add soda dissolved in milk, then butter and golden syrup, warmed together.

Stir liquid quickly into the dry ingredients until the flour is just dampened.

Put in cold, greased patty tins.

Bake at 220 deg C for 12-15 minutes.

For variety, raisins may be added.

This is a very old recipe off the back of an Elfin Vi-Bran packet. You can use any baking bran.

I followed the recipe to the instructions beating the egg, adding the soda and milk. I heated the butter and golden syrup and mixed that in to the eggy mixture, before turning it all into the dry ingredients and gently folding it all together. I used a cup of sultanas as a 'variety' and had tossed them in the dry ingredients first. I actually found I only made 11 muffins as there wasn't enough mixture to go around my 12 medium sized muffin tin.
I cooked them for about 14 minutes and that may have been a bit long.

They are a nice bran flavour but are best eaten warm and with a bit of spread - I used butter.