Muesli bars and "sloppy icing"

On Monday I tried out a couple of new recipes, including Low-fat, Low-sugar Muesli Bars - my mum had come across the recipe while browsing online. They were very nice - chewy, and not too sweet. Here's the recipe:

Low fat, Low sugar Muesli Bars

Ingredients
2 cups rolled oats
6 crushed Weet Bix
1/2 cup sultanas
60g dried apricots, chopped
1 cup 100% orange juice
1/3 cup honey
2 egg whites

Method
1. Combine orange juice and honey in a small saucepan, and simmer over medium heat for around 10 minutes, until it thickens and forms a thin syrup.
2. Combine oats, Weet Bix, sultanas and apricots in a bowl. Add syrup and stir to combine. Add egg whites and mix.
3. Preheat oven to 180'C. Press mixture into a lined 18 x 28cm tin, and bake 20-25 minutes until golden.
4. Cool in tin, turn out and cut into bars.

The recipe is from Simple Cooking - do have a look, there are some great recipes on there!

Another favourite in our family is Spicy Raisin Squares. It's definitely not as healthy as the muesli bars :-) but it tastes delicious! I made it this morning with my brother. (It's my brother's favourite slice. He says he like it because of the "sloppy icing". . .) We used plain flour instead of self-raising flour by accident! I'm not sure exactly how it happened. Never mind, it was still edible.


Spicy Raisin Squares

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup castor sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

125g butter

1 cup raisins
1/3 cup stewed apple
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 180'C. Line a 28 x 18cm tin with nonstick baking paper. Place flour and both sugars in large bowl. Rub in butter with fingertips until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Spread into prepared tin. Bake for approx. 25 minutes. (I find it usually takes longer in our oven; see how you go.) Cool in tin. Ice with cinnamon icing (recipe below).

Cinnamon Icing

3 tablespoons (50g) soft butter
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
milk
nutmeg

Beat butter till light. Add icing sugar a little at a time, beat until light and fluffy. Add cinnamon and vanilla. Add enough milk to make mixture spreadable. Spread over cooled slice, cut into squares. Sprinkle with nutmeg.