Easy granola bars with foraged hazelnuts

An unfussy recipe that starts with some early autumn foraging

These granola bars are the kind of thing you make on a Sunday afternoon without any bother, and it’ll set you up for a week of easy breakfasts, or dog walking snacks.

Forage the nuts if you can, buy them if you can't. Either way, there's something so wholesome about starting the morning with something made by your own hands.

In autumn, I make these granola bars with foraged nuts. There are a couple of spots near me where I can gather hazelnuts and walnuts throughout September and early October.

To find your own nut-foraging spots, keep an eye out for Hazel trees. This native tree very common in woodland and hedgerows, easily identified by its habit of growing in multiple straight stems rather than a single trunk.

Walnut trees can often be found dotted throughout old English country estates and parkland, where they were commonly planted as ornamental trees.

Out of season, a bag of mixed nuts from the shops does the job just as well.

Gather what you need, most of it from the back of the cupboard.

You’ll need:

Ingredients:

• A tin of condensed milk 397g

• Sugar-free muesli, with or without berries - whatever you have to hand

• A generous handful of nuts, either foraged or from the shop, and there’s no rule on what sort of nuts to use, it’s whatever you prefer

• Chuck in any berries and seeds you - goji berries, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds.

Equipment

• A small baking tin

• Baking paper to line your tin.

Simple enough to make on a slow Sunday afternoon without it feeling like an effort.

1 | Get the oven on & prep

Pre-heat your oven to 180C.

Weigh out your ingredients so they’re ready to go.

Line your baking tin with baking paper - I’m lazy so I just line the bottom of the tin, not the sides, and that works just fine.

2 | Gently heat

Tip the whole can of condensed milk into a pan on a medium heat. In a few minutes you’ll find the consistency becoming thinner. Keep the heat low as condensed milk can easily burn if it gets too hot.

3 | Mix

Pour all of the muesli, nuts, berries ad seeds into the pan of condensed milk. Stir everything until it’s fully combined.

4 | Bake

Pour the mixture into the baking tin and flatten it out with a spatula.

Put into the oven and set a timer for 25 minutes.

5 | Remove from the oven & cool

Take out of the oven when it’s golden on top.

Rest the baking tray for 20 minutes until the mixture has cooled.

6 | Segment

Life the mixture out of the baking tray and cut into individual granola bars before it cools completely. The mixture is much easier to work with when it’s still a little warm.

7 | Enjoy

Wrap your granola bars individually in baking paper and enjoy with your morning coffee or sat on a fallen tree trunk on your morning walk.

This such an un-fussy recipe. I hope you love it so much, it becomes one of your no-measure staples.

And there couldn’t be a better fix for a quick breakfast, or convenient dog walking snack.

📍 Save to Pinterest for foraging season…