Homemade Muesli Bars from Five Ingredients

Instructions

• 1
  First, cut the dried fruit to the size of a hazelnut leaf. If you don't use cocktail cherries or juicy dried plums, you'll need to soak the fruit overnight. Any juice works for this – apple or orange – but essentially, nothing will happen if it's just water.
• 2
  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Heat a dry pan over medium-high heat. Add the nuts and toast them, stirring constantly and shaking occasionally, until they become fragrant. Transfer them to a bowl and let cool. Then chop them into coarser pieces.
• 3
  Wipe the used pan with a paper towel, add the rolled oats, and toast them until light golden. Don't forget to stir, as burnt oats, just like nuts, taste bitter.
• 4
  Line a baking dish, approximately 25 x 15 cm, with baking paper. Mix the toasted nuts and oats with flour and salt. If you soaked the fruit, drain it thoroughly and squeeze it a bit, if such an action is required. Chop it coarsely, add to the oats, pour in the honey, and mix in any way to form a strange, sticky, non-cohesive dough. Of course, it's best done with bare hands, but you would have figured that out yourself after trying three spatulas, mixers, and whisks.
• 5
  Press the dough into the prepared baking dish. Yes, once again, your bare hands will serve you best, or perhaps the bottom of a glass greased on the outside with oil. Press down carefully as much as your patience allows, and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• 6
  Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the baking dish. Grasp the overhanging baking paper and transfer the sticky baked item to a large cutting board. Only then cut into bars. Don't limit yourself to usual shapes; not only narrow rectangles but also triangles and squares are nice.
• 7
  Excess bars can be stored long-term in the freezer. I don't expect you'll need this advice once you taste them.