Welcome to Miss GF Makes #3…….. Miss GF’s third foray into the world of blog-baking and probably her most indulgent yet!
Last week, she was off school for a few days poorly and feeling quite sorry for herself. I always hate when she gets sick, and usually try to be the one to stay home if I can. Unfortunately, for reasons beyond my control (and as the law of sod would dictate), last week I couldn’t work from home…… Thank goodness Mr GF was able to be flexible and be with her. Actually…… looking at it now, I think he drew the short straw, as she generously shared her bug and by the end of the week Mr GF was full of cough and cold and acting like he had contracted terminal man-flu……. In the end I gave them both a wide berth and was glad to be otherwise unavailable!
As is the case with kids though, once she started to feel better, Miss GF bounced back with speedy gusto…… and that could only mean one thing…… time on her hands (before she got booted back to school) to bake. I came home one day to find chaos in the kitchen and complaints that she ‘couldn’t find the pecans or coconut’ and ‘did we have any peanuts?’
Her favourite cookbook – Adriana Rabinovich’s The Gluten-Free Cookbook for Kids was looking increasingly dog-eared and was pinned open at page 186 : Magic Bars…… Adriana’s description of these as chocolatey, gooey, sweet and creamy just about sums them up. Made with a tin of sweetened condensed milk, they have a serious sweet hit, but are none the worse for it, providing you can show restraint in having just one at a time…….
Actually, I was really proud of Miss GF…… when it came to slicing them, she insisted on cutting really small squares because she was more than well aware of the calorie content. She evidently shows more self-control than her mother!
I was also seriously impressed with her lack of fluster when she realised we didn’t have some of the required ingredients. Her ability to make sound and quite analytical substitutions was fearless and confident for a 10 year old…….. No pecans? We’ll just replace them with a perfect combo of hazelnuts and peanuts. No plain cornflakes? No worries…. there’s a box of gluten free chocolate cornflakes in the cupboard…… but hey! If they are already chocolatey, then we’ll just reduce on the amount of chocolate chips so that we get the balance right!
She’s a smart cookie my daughter. She’s already started asking me which flours do what to a bake….. Before we know it, she’ll be into full-on recipe development and giving Mary Berry a gluten free run for her money!
And the Magic Bars? If you like a good sweet amalgamation of chocolate with peanut, which is crunchy, soft, sticky and velvety all at once, then this is one for you. Miss GF’s recipe tweaks have resulted in a delicious harmony of flavours and textures within which peanuts shine….
Just beware…… That promise you made to yourself to have ‘only one’? I think you may be about to break it!
I am sharing Miss GF’s Peanut Magic Bars with the following March linkies :
Alpha Bakes with The More Than Occasional Baker (and Caroline Makes) – C is this month’s challenge letter….. that will be chocolate cornflakes, chocolate chips, coconut and condensed milk then…..
Treat Petite with The Baking Explorer and Cakeyboi – March’s theme is Easter & Spring. These little squares are quick and easy as an Easter treat.
Free From Fridays with the Free From Farmhouse
Bake of the Week with Sarah at Maison Cupcake and Casa Costello.
#Yum Tum with The Mummy Toolbox.
Sunday Fitness & Food Link-Up with Marathons & Motivation and Ilkas Blog.
Peanut Magic Bars (adapted by Miss GF from a recipe by Adriana Rabinovich)
Ingredients
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 170 C/325 F/Gas 3.
- Base-line a 23 x 23 cm (9 x 9 inch) cake tin with baking paper.
- Grind the cornflakes and hazelnuts with a pinch of salt in a food processor until fine, then pour into a bowl.
- Melt the butter either in a small bowl in the microwave or in a small saucepan and then add to the ground cornflake mix. Stir until well combined and ‘damp’, then tip into the prepared cake tin and spread to evenly cover the base. Press down firmly.
- Using the same bowl, combine the chocolate chips, coconut and peanuts and then tip this mixture into the tin on top of the cornflake base, ensuring it is evenly distributed.
- Pour the condensed milk evenly over the top.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden and set.
- Allow to cool completely in the tin and then transfer to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours (or overnight), before removing from the tin and cutting into bars or squares.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Like mother like daughter! Sounds like she will be the next pastry chef/baker extraordinaire! Love the sound of these magic bars and yes I'm pretty sure I won't be able to stop at just one. Thanks for entering AlphaBakes.
Ha ha! She's certainly not scared of experimenting with food! But these were pretty calorie-lethal and it was very hard not to keep eating them once started x
Good for Miss GF. She's definitely heading in the right direction and will be on Bake Off before you know it.
Ha ha! Thanks Choclette. She's increasingly proud of her creations!
It's so great to get the kids in the kitchen and it sounds like she is learning so much from you already. #freefromfridays
I agree Emma. I think more and more these days it is important to get them up to speed with kitchen skills as early as possible, especially if they need to learn to manage dietary issues as well!
Love all of the flavours going in these Kate – delicious!
Thanks Stuart x
Wow what a clever girl! Watch out, she'll be taking over in the kitchen soon. And then it will be this blog! 😉
Wow what a clever girl! Watch out, she'll be taking over in the kitchen soon. And then it will be this blog! 😉
You could be right Vicki……. I need to watch my back and keep my blog very carefully password protected!
These look marvellous! I can't wait until my son can bake things for me! Thanks for joining in with #BAKEoftheWEEK !
Thanks Sarah. I have to admit….. it is pretty cool coming home to fresh baked treats!
Well done Miss GF! These look really lovely and delicious!
Thanks Alida x
Wow, these sound awesome and Miss GF sounds like a total whizz in the kitchen! When's her first cookbook coming out? Perhaps she should enter GBBO this year! (Have they ever had a GF contestant? That would be super interesting!) Eb x
Thanks Eb. She is certainly confident!
I am not aware of any GF contestant on GBBO…… I think it would be pretty difficult to do the technicals….. Mr H has a definite love of the gluten!
I think I could eat a scary number of these!
Hope everyone's feeling better soon
Thanks CC…. we all seem to be better now. Maybe it was the scary number of these that I did actually eat…. but I avoided the bug completely!
These look absolutely amazing! and gluten free too! – as the last linkup for #YumTum you might not get two comments so I have stumbled your page as an extra thank you 🙂 x
Thank you Charlotte x
Oh boy, these magic bars look just too cute not to pin it! Great list of ingredients! Stumbling and pinning! :):)
Thank you so much Ilka. That's really kind of you x
what a little star – they sound and look delicious – nothing like a sweet bake to help everyone feel better – hope all are well and you dodge the lurgy
Thanks Johanna. A star indeed! She's getting more and more confident. I think the bars were actually real magic…. Miss and Mr GF are now fully well and I didn't get ill at all!
They look amazing! What a clever daughter you have! Thanks for entering into Treat Petite.
Thanks Kat, you're welcome. I am very proud of her!
Hope your family is feeling better! We have had alternating illnesses here too, last week my son , then my daughter, then myself…spreading the Love I guess! These peanut Magic Bars look delicious! It's wonderful that your daughter is learning about the different kinds of four and learning how to bake. I think this will be a fun project with my kids. thank you for sharing 🙂 Pinned!!
Thanks Angela. All seem to be better now….. just in time for the annual chocolate binge! I think it is so important for kids to learn to cook and to have an interest in food and where it comes from. It's great to see them flourish in the kitchen x