aussie bites

Am I the only person left without a Costco membership? Some days I feel that way.

A friend and I went for a walk on the beach a few weeks ago and since the weather forecast said “75 and sunny” but meant “62 and cloudy” we decided to pop into a cafe for a cup of tea to warm up. We were in line and the guy ahead of us asked the barista for a solid little mini muffin on display in the bakery case. Intrigued, we asked what they were called; the hipster behind the counter replied, “Aussie bites.” We each ordered one.

Aussie bites are denser than muffins but have a nice flour component that makes them more tender than granola bars. As we nibbled our fiberlicious snacks, I mentioned that I would have to try making some at home. I eyed my bite thoughtfully, identifying flax seeds, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, coconut, and raisins, pondering the other ingredients.

A full four seconds of research on the ol’ intertubes back at home told me that they’re from Costco and you can just call them up and ask for the recipe, which several people have already done on my behalf and slapped it up on the web.

Huh. Well, that was easy.

So far I have made these twice — first a quarter of a batch, then a half batch. Who needs 50 mini muffins? Not I. The second time I used olive oil in place of the copious amount of butter called in the recipe. If you can get over the shock factor of the two sticks of butter, it actually divides out into less than a teaspoon of butter per bite which isn’t actually that bad.

Really take your time chewing thoroughly, savor that small morsel, and try not to eat half a dozen in a sitting and you should be fine. Next time I might try half butter, half oil. If I had any applesauce on hand I might have given that a shot as a partial replacement, too. The buttery flavor was nice and the oil-based batch took a few minutes longer to cook. Either way, they’re a handy snack.

The other changes I made were adding salt and vanilla (really? neither?) and a small handful of chopped almonds which were lovely even though I forgot to add them the second time. For the cup of dried fruit I used equal parts raisins and dates — the dates sort of melt in subtly, the raisins are more overt.

Have you had Aussie bites? What’s your favorite snack from Costco?

Aussie Bites

Adapted from Costco
Makes 50 mini muffins

My hand-me-down mini muffin pan is not non-stick, so I very lightly greased it, ran a knife around the edges after baking, and didn’t have any trouble.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup flaxseeds
• 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1 cup finely chopped dried fruit (apricots, raisins, dates, figs, cranberries, etc.)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 3 eggs, beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl.
3. Melt honey and butter together. Mix baking soda and salt with hot water and add to butter mixture. Stir in vanilla. Combine butter mixture with dry ingredients, add eggs, and mix well.
4. Use a tablespoon to drop the batter into lined or lightly-greased mini muffin tins. Flatten the tops.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350F or until golden. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 minutes; finish cooling on wire racks.

Tagged as: baking, granola, muffins, snacks