These babies are a doddle to make, and are a great way to use up any odd bits of dried fruit and nuts you have lying around. I used Gluten free oats as I seem to have a surfit of them in my cupboard…

Pour a bag of oats into a large mixing bowl and slowly add in water (3-4 cups) until they are all moistened and sticky, but not so much that they get runny. Pour in 2 cups of maple syrup, 1 tbsp vanilla essence and stir it all in. Chuck in your fruit and nuts mix it all up and then press the mixture into a baking tin and bake at 180 c for about 40 minutes, keep checking until the oats are firm to the touch and golden.

When they are ready you can drizzle them with more maple syrup and almonds, I used dates, maraschino cherries, and dried peel. You could add peanut butter, coconut oil or chocolate chips too. OOooh Pecans would be ideal… They are delicious and not overly sweet as I didn’t add any sweetner but you could always add coconut sugar or agave syrup if you wish. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!