Date and Honey Bars
This is my favourite "easy" recipe. Turn on the oven to warm it up, and by when it's warmed through they're ready to start baking. They store well in the fridge for at least a week and, best of all, most people love them!
Pre-heat the oven to Gas 5 (190ºC).
Use a 7 inch square tin (or 8 inch round)
Put the following into a small saucepan (mix the flour and water together first):
120 millilitres water
2 level teaspoons flour
6 ounces dates (without stones and chopped at least in half)
3 level tablespoons thick/set honey (runny honey is not so good, but ok if desperate...)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about the juice of one whole lemon)
Gently bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Cook on a very low heat for three or four minutes.
Put the following into a mixing bowl and stir gently:
4 ounces white flour (preferably self-raising)
2 ounces sugar (preferably brown, ideally Demerara) (adjust from 1 to 3 ounces as you prefer)
5 ounces porridge oats
6 ounces softened butter or margarine
Spread half from the mixing bowl over the base of the tin, pressing down well. Spread the contents of the saucepan on top. Sprinkle the rest from the mixing bowl on top of this (the only time-consuming bit)
Cooking time: 25 minutes @ Gas 5 (190ºC)
Leave in the tin to cool. Cut into bars and store in an air-tight container. (Best eaten on the following day; store in the fridge if kept longer, but serve at room temperature)