No Bake Raspberry & White Chocolate Cookie Bars

You know the feeling. The cookie jar is empty. Your freezer supply of baked goods has gone and there’s nothing for lunch boxes. It’s 5pm. You’re in the middle of getting dinner on and you need to get something baked for school lunches. That was the case with me the other day when I somehow came up with these No Bake Raspberry & White Chocolate Cookie Bars.

This is all I started with. I checked the freezer and I had a few raspberries and a handful of white chocolate chips. I was thinking of making muffins, while the oven was on but I just couldn’t be bothered waiting for them to cook while I was rushing around with dinner so decided to go with something ‘no bake’.

I also found a packet of plain biscuits and a tin of condensed milk in the pantry. Something that no home should be without. The condensed milk comes in so handy for last minute baking. The plain biscuits were obviously bought for a special recipe but that never happened so they made their way to the back of the pantry. I could’ve just given these to the kids but they’re pretty plain and I had already defrosted the raspberries.

This is just your standard, run of the mill, basic no bake slice where you smash the biscuits until crumbs form, add the rest of the ingredients, melt some butter, mix the condensed milk with the melted butter, mix it through and put it in the fridge. My kind of recipe when you’re in a hurry.

I pureed the partially defrosted raspberries, trying not to make it too pureed as to leave some pieces whole.

Mix it all together and that’s pretty much it.

Press into a slice tin and then pop in the fridge. Wait until it’s set, preferably overnight and cover with icing if you like, not that it really needs it.

I loved how the raspberries, when mixed with the condensed milk, turned the prettiest shade of pink so I couldn’t resist topping with pink icing and more coconut. I love anything covered in coconut.

This was so, so good. The kids loved it. Well, most of them. Once ‘the girl’ saw a raspberry, she lost interest but my son devoured it. It was perfect for lunch boxes and afternoon tea. These kind of no bake slices last for a week or so in the fridge, if it doesn’t all get eaten up beforehand.

No Bake Raspberry & White Chocolate Cookie Bars

1 packet of plain biscuits, crushed into crumbs
1/2 cup raspberries, pureed
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup coconut
1 can condensed milk
80gm butter

Quantity of pink icing and coconut to cover, optional

1. Mix together biscuit crumbs, chocolate chips and coconut.
2. On stove top, melt butter and add condensed milk mixing well.
3. Add to biscuit crumb mixture and add raspberry puree.
4. Press into a 20x25cm slice tin and refrigerate until set.
5. Spread with icing and coconut if desired.

Overnight quinoa flakes with raspberries & honey

I can honestly say I’ve got a thing for quinoa. I could take or leave cooked oats for breakfast and its not something I usually cook. I don’t mind making them overnight, that is, when you soak them in milk plus other ingredients and they have softened, ready to eat in the morning. I thought I’d apply the same method to quinoa flakes.

It was really delicious. I also had fresh raspberries, another ingredient I don’t normally have a lot of. I’ve only ever really eaten fresh strawberries. Fresh raspberries are a relatively new thing to me. They’ve nearly always been available frozen or canned but hardly fresh. I had this punnet of raspberries earmarked for chocolate and raspberry brownies but the fresh bright berries were calling my name asking to be eaten fresh. I chopped some and mixed through the quinoa and then topped with a couple whole berries. A drizzle of honey to finish and I was ready to go. You could warm through in a saucepan or zap in the microwave if you prefer them warm.

If  you like oats done this way, you’ll love quinoa flakes too. I’m looking forward to trying them with other berries, banana and walnuts, peaches and almonds, prunes, apples and cinnamon and the list goes on.

Overnight Quinoa Flakes with Raspberries & Honey

• half cup of quinoa flakes
• 1 cup of milk
• raspberries
• honey to serve

1. Add milk to quinoa flakes and stir well.
2. Chop some raspberries and add to the quinoa mixture.
3. Put in an airtight container in the fridge the night before they’ll be eaten.
4. Top with more fresh raspberries and drizzle with honey to serve.

Serves 1.

For more oat recipes, click here.