Spiced Walnut Bars
Crushed biscuits bound with butter and syrup, studded with walnuts and dried fruit. A shelf-stable traybake made at home and carried ready to eat.
- calories
- 280
- weight
- 1.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 187
- protein
- 3 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 2 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Snack
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- Eat in the bag
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Rich Tea biscuits | 7 oz | crushed into coarse crumbs with some chunks left for crunch |
|---|---|---|
| Walnuts | 2 oz | finely chopped |
| Butter or margarine | 3 oz | |
| Golden syrup | 3 tbsp | |
| Instant coffee granules | 2 tsp | |
| Ground cinnamon | 2 tsp | |
| Raisins | 2 oz | |
| Icing sugar | 2 oz | |
| Glace cherries | 2 oz | chopped into quarters |
| Cooking chocolate | 2–3 oz | melted for coating |
Method
- Unwrap and eat.
To make: Crush the biscuits into coarse crumbs, chop the walnuts finely, and quarter the cherries. Heat the butter and golden syrup gently together, stir in the instant coffee and cinnamon until dissolved, then pour over the crushed biscuits, walnuts, raisins, cherries, and icing sugar in a bowl. Stir until bound, press into a parchment-lined tray to about half an inch thick, cool completely, cut into twelve bars, coat with melted chocolate, and wrap individually.
The butter and golden syrup do the binding—both matter because they carry fat better than water, which is why this works as a stable bar on the trail. On trail you just unwrap and eat; no cooking, no fridge needed. These don’t crumble or go stale because they’re built solid enough to be carried for weeks.
Packing
Make these at home (see body), wrap each bar individually in parchment, and store in a dry spot. They stay stable for three weeks or more without refrigeration.
Variations
- Substitute almonds or pecans for the walnuts.
- Use half raisins and half dried cranberries.
- Add espresso powder for a stronger coffee note.
- Omit the chocolate coating for lighter bars.
https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/spicy-squares-fridge-cake-traybake.17