Lunchbox Treats
by Nigella. Featured in NIGELLA EXPRESSIntroduction
It's a long time since I popped one of these crunchy, crisp, sweet and chewy treats into a lunchbox, but I have a great residual fondness for them, and not just because they taste compellingly like sesame-strong Lion Bars in ball form (though, as you can see in step 3, they can also be fashioned into little cakes). They also happen to be an excellent way of powering up when on the move and, although they are undeniably sweet, I prefer to dwell on the nutritional benisons of malt, oat and seeds: if it makes you feel better, you can rename them Energy Balls! Besides, this mixture makes a lot of 'em, and just one will do the trick nicely. Finally, while I always used to make these with rice malt syrup (sometimes labelled brown rice syrup, and usually sold in health stores) as I'd been told, whether rightly or wrongly, that the complex sugars in this syrup give a slower, more sustained kind of energy than the brute force of a sudden sugar rush, I actually often use whatever malt syrup I can find.
And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.
It's a long time since I popped one of these crunchy, crisp, sweet and chewy treats into a lunchbox, but I have a great residual fondness for them, and not just because they taste compellingly like sesame-strong Lion Bars in ball form (though, as you can see in step 3, they can also be fashioned into little cakes). They also happen to be an excellent way of powering up when on the move and, although they are undeniably sweet, I prefer to dwell on the nutritional benisons of malt, oat and seeds: if it makes you feel better, you can rename them Energy Balls! Besides, this mixture makes a lot of 'em, and just one will do the trick nicely. Finally, while I always used to make these with rice malt syrup (sometimes labelled brown rice syrup, and usually sold in health stores) as I'd been told, whether rightly or wrongly, that the complex sugars in this syrup give a slower, more sustained kind of energy than the brute force of a sudden sugar rush, I actually often use whatever malt syrup I can find.
And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.
Ingredients
Makes: 25 treats or 12 cupcakes
- 50 grams milk chocolate
- 150 grams rice malt syrup
- 55 grams butter
- 60 grams rice krispies
- 30 grams cornflakes
- 40 grams quick cook oats
- 75 grams sesame seeds
- 2 ounces milk chocolate
- ½ cup rice malt syrup
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 cups rice krispies
- 1 cup cornflakes
- ½ cup quick-cooking oats
- ½ cup sesame seeds
Method
- Melt the chocolate, syrup and butter gently in a heavy-based saucepan.
- Add all the other ingredients, turning to coat everything well.
- Using your hands (either glove-up or wet your hands with cold water first), shape the mixture into walnut-sized balls. You should get about 25; you could also make this using a 12-bun muffin tin lined with muffin papers to get 12 larger cupcakes.
- Let them set in the fridge for an hour or so, and they will keep quite happily in there for a week of treats.
- Melt the chocolate, syrup and butter gently in a heavy-based saucepan.
- Add all the other ingredients, turning to coat everything well.
- Using your hands (either glove-up or wet your hands with cold water first), shape the mixture into walnut-sized balls. You should get about 25; you could also make this using a 12-bun muffin tin lined with muffin papers to get 12 larger cupcakes.
- Let them set in the fridge for an hour or so, and they will keep quite happily in there for a week of treats.
Additional Information
Please note these are not gluten free as both cornflakes and Rice Krispies contain barley malt.
MAKE AHEAD / STORE:
The Lunchbox Treats will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container in a cool place. Please note that the Rice Krispies may soften slightly over time.
They can be frozen though they do go a little soft and sticky when they defrost. Wrap them individually, put in a box, freeze for up to 1 month (as they are small, so more susceptible to freezer burn) then unwrap and defrost on a wire rack and eat the same day. They will thaw very quickly as they are small. It is important to unwrap them before defrosting - if you put them straight from the freezer to a lunchbox in their wrapping then the wrapping will retain moisture as the treats defrost, leading to increased stickiness.
Please note these are not gluten free as both cornflakes and Rice Krispies contain barley malt.
MAKE AHEAD / STORE:
The Lunchbox Treats will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container in a cool place. Please note that the Rice Krispies may soften slightly over time.
They can be frozen though they do go a little soft and sticky when they defrost. Wrap them individually, put in a box, freeze for up to 1 month (as they are small, so more susceptible to freezer burn) then unwrap and defrost on a wire rack and eat the same day. They will thaw very quickly as they are small. It is important to unwrap them before defrosting - if you put them straight from the freezer to a lunchbox in their wrapping then the wrapping will retain moisture as the treats defrost, leading to increased stickiness.
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Show more commentsthese really are delicious! I can't imagine my life without them now!
these remind me of nuvullu laddus. they are so tasty they are jaggery and sesame seeds, rolled into balls. they are made specifically for the festival of sankranti
These are really nice but really hard to roll together. You have to squish them together to make a ball. I used blueberry maple syrup and I didn't have any sesame seeds so used 25g of chia seeds and 50g of sunflower seed kernels so maybe thats why they didnt stick very well. Still yummy though :-)
This is so similar to what we eat out here in India, called Moa, which we make by mixing together puffed rice, raisins, and very warm jaggery or caramel, and a pinch of salt. Glad to see another version of it here. :)