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This Oat and Coconut Crunchie recipe makes buttery, golden squares of sweet, crispy goodness that is best enjoyed with a cup of milk for breakfast or with tea for a mid-morning or afternoon pick me up.
Growing up, my aunt Josephine’s Crunchie recipe was a staple that she always made for special occasions and family gatherings. For as long as I can remember it has been one of our family favorite golden syrup recipes, and nothing I’ve tasted elsewhere even comes close to the crunchy texture and moderately sweet golden syrup flavor.
Her crunchie recipe is so easy to make and even easier to eat that you can make up a batch any time.
One of my colleagues at work has claimed that these oat crunchies are addictive because once you’ve had one, you only want more and more. Homemade crunchies is one of those easy to make South African snacks that you wonder why it’s taken you so long to make it for yourself.
The crunchie recipe ingredients are remarkably ordinary. Rolled oats, coconut, fine granulated sugar and flour are moistened with melted butter, golden syrup and bicarbonate of soda. After baking, the end result is extra-ordinary. The aroma of the butter and syrup cooking together is heavenly and it becomes even more delectable as it hits the oats and coconut during baking. Your home will smell amazing!
When I lived in the UK I once bought something called flapjack, while I waited to take a train home from work. It looked like a South African cookie but the flavor and texture were disappointing. I never did acquire the taste for the soft, chewy flapjacks and much prefer our crispy crunchie recipe.
How to make Crunchies crispy
- Use good quality lightly salted butter.
- Use thick spoonable Golden Syrup, not the thing runny kind.
- Don’t let the butter and golden syrup boil with the bicarb for longer than a minute as it affects the color of the end result.
- You may be tempted to bake the crunchies for longer than 20 minutes before cutting, but don’t do it. Baking for too long will make it too dry and crumbly and difficult to cut and flip.
- Always flip the cookies after slicing and return to the oven to ensure the bottom is crispy as well. To make this easier, place another cookie sheet of the same size or larger, over the cut cookies and flip it over. Separate the cookies and place the sheet back in the oven to finish crisping up.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before packing away. That’s if you can resist snacking on them.
The first time that I made them in Dubai was for a year end afternoon tea that I was hosting for my department. Aside from the Crunchies, I also made a few other recipes that you can find by clicking the links below.
- Whipped Yogurt Mousse,
- Caramel Peppermint Dessert
- Pecan Snowball cookies
- Decadent Chocolate cake with ganache
- Carrot and beetroot cake
Crispy Oat and Coconut Crunchie recipe
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 120 grams medium dessicated coconut approximately 375 ml or 1 1/2 cups
- 195 grams cake or fine sponge flour approximately 375 ml or 1 1/2 cups
- 300 grams fine granulated sugar approximately 375 ml or 1 1/2 cups
- 270 grams rolled oats approximately 750 ml or 3 cups, not easy cook or quick cook oats
Wet ingredients
- 440 g butter
- 30 ml Golden Syrup 2 tablespoons, I use Lyle's as it is thick and gooey
- 2 ml bicarbonate of soda less than 1/2 tsp
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 170C or 150C fan / 340 F / Gas mark 3.
- Combine the coconut, cake flour, sugar and oats in a heatproof bowl and whisk a few times.
- Heat the butter and golden syrup in a medium size pot on medium high, then add the bicarbonate of soda when the butter mixture starts bubbling.
- Allow the mixture to bubble for exactly one more minute, then add the hot liquid to the dry ingredients. (I time this to ensure the bicarb doesn’t make the end result too dark).
- Mix the ingredients thoroughly until the flour is incorporated and the oats and coconut are evenly coated.
- Empty the cookie mixture into an oven tray and ensure it is smooth, even and compact. You can use the bottom of a flat measuring cup to do this.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and cut into squares or fingers. To make this easier, place another cookie sheet of the same size or larger, over the cut cookies and flip it over.
- Separate the cookies and place the cookie sheet back in the oven to continue to bake on the other side for another 10 minutes to crisp it up.
- Remove from the baking sheet and let cool completely on cooling racks then pack into a pretty airtight cookie jar or tin.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information for the recipe is an approximation and varies according to the ingredients and products used.
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14 Comments
Carine van der Linde
July 4, 2020 at 6:12 pmDelicious but had to bake it much much longer than instructed. Also struggled to cut it as it came out of oven- very fragile. Would rather cut it once slightly cooled.
Razena Schroeder
July 4, 2020 at 6:33 pmThanks for the feedback Carine.
Nayna Kanabar
August 30, 2018 at 11:10 amThese look delectable and so easy to make . I am definitely going to try them.
Razena Schroeder
September 4, 2018 at 9:14 pmThey are definitely so worth it!
Terry
August 16, 2020 at 8:53 pmReally nice and easy recipe. Had to bake for much much longer, maybe the butter is too much. Also couldn’t cut them and flip them. They would just break apart. But really tasty.
Razena Schroeder
August 16, 2020 at 8:55 pmIf you bake them too long they do become too hard and crumbly when they cool. The trick is to follow the recipe and remove after 20 minutes. Slice then cool and flip and bake on the other side as indicated to crisp up.
Elizabeth O
August 29, 2018 at 4:02 pmThese sound so delicious indeed. I love how easy they look to make and the calorie content is also quite low. Brilliant recipe!
Razena Schroeder
September 4, 2018 at 9:13 pmNot completely guilt free as it contains butter and golden syrup but it is still a good source of nutritious energy.
Monidipa Dutta
August 28, 2018 at 10:34 amThose bars look really yummy. I as usual like the nutritional facts that u mention. I am not in country now else I would have taken the recipe to make it.
Razena Schroeder
September 4, 2018 at 9:12 pmYou can always print the recipe once you are back home and in your own kitchen 🙂
Geraline Batarra
August 28, 2018 at 7:42 amWow, this cookie recipe looks really delicious and looks so easy to prepare. I will try to make this for my kids, thanks for sharing!
Razena Schroeder
September 4, 2018 at 9:11 pmThis was hands down my favorite when I was a child so I’m sure your kids will love them too. Let me know what they think when you do 🙂
Jennifer Prince
August 28, 2018 at 6:08 amOoh! Those bars look oh so good. I’d love to try to make them for my family for a quick breakfast on the go!
Razena Schroeder
September 4, 2018 at 9:10 pmI made this for a party at work a few years ago and one of my colleagues said these cookies are totally addictive because after having one he wanted to keep eating them 🙂