Freezer friendly back-to-school sweet snacks

So my Mum took the big kids to the movies today, the last day of holidays. It was then that I realised I was completely unprepared for back to school this year. We only got back from holiday’s a few days ago and it’s taken up until now to emerge from the washing. So I have made 4 freezer friendly back to school snacks that I am certain all the kids will enjoy. Three of these back to school snacks aren’t even on the blog yet as they haven’t been photographed. So this post will probably self destruct in a few weeks time when I get around to writing them up properly. In the meantime I am happy to share these freezer ready back to school snacks with you, they make a nice little sweet treat and a great alternative to store bought baked goods.

If these don’t appeal to you there are also these four recipes they’re also freezer friendly and I made in under an hour.

1. Anzac biscuits.

A classic biscuit that takes no time to make and you probably have everything you need in the house. Total winner every time. Ingredients

• ¾ cup plain flour
• ¾ cup desiccated coconut
• 1 cup rolled oats
• ½ cup sugar
• 100g butter (or 1/3 cup canola oil)
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tablespoons boiling water

Method Preheat the oven to 150°C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Add the flour, coconut, oats and sugar in a large bowl and stir to combine. In a small saucepan melt butter (or oil) and syrup together in over medium-low heat. Mix bicarbonate of soda and boiling water and then add to the melted butter and syrup. Gently mix wet ingredients with the dry. Place tablespoonfuls of mixture on a lined baking tray and bake  for 15minutes or until golden brown.

2. Apricot coconut balls.

These nutritious bliss balls are the result of throwing together a bunch of ingredients and crossing my fingers. Thankfully they worked out really well and I love that they aren’t too sweet. They freeze and defrost perfectly. Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rolled oats, lightly toasted
• 200g, dried apricots
• 3 tablespoons apple juice or water
• 1 cup desiccated coconut + extra to roll
• 3 tablespoons flaxseed meal or mixed seed meal or cereal like Rice Bubbles or Weetbix
• 1 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Method Use a food processor to blitz the oats. Add the apricots and process on a high speed until finely chopped. Add all other ingredients and blitz for around 20 seconds or until well combined and the mixture starts to stick together. Roll into small balls and then roll in the extra coconut.

3. Lunchbox squares.

As you can see there’s a bit of an apricot theme going on here. I had a packet of no-preservative apricots so I have used those. You could use any dried fruit, I think dates would also work well. Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup self raising flour
• 1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots or other dried fruit
• 30g sultanas
• 1/2 cup mixed seeds e.g. sunflower seeds, peptias or shredded coconut
• 130g butter, cubed
• 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Method Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a lamington tin with baking paper. In a large bowl combine the rolled oats, flour, apricots, sultanas and seeds until well combined. In a small saucepan melt the butter, honey and sugar over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the butter mixture over the dry mixture and stir until well combined. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly and then put in the fridge to set. Slice into squares.

4. Zucchini chocolate cake balls.

As I was scrolling through a million recipes with Harry looking for inspiration it kept coming back to chocolate cake. Chocolate muffins. Chocolate cupcakes. Chocolate bliss balls. OK buddy, I get it. So I attempted to make a cake pop – without the pop because – ain’t nobody got time for dat, and these are FAB. They’re quite rich, so you can keep the portion size small.

Ingredients

• 1 large (200g) zucchini finely grated, juice squeezed out
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil or melted coconut oil
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups self raising flour
• 1/3 cup cacao powder or cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

And then..

• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup chopped quality cooking chocolate
• Desiccated coconut or sprinkles to top

Method Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a square 20cm baking tin with baking paper. In a large bowl combine the zucchini, milk, maple syrup, oil, eggs an mix until well combined. Sift over the flour, cacao and baking powder and mix until just combined. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes or until the top springs back when you push it. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a microwave proof bowl melt together the coconut oil and chocolate in the microwave – I do 10 second intervals, stirring in between.

Break apart the cake and place in a large food processor. Pulse until you have an even breadcrumb looking mixture. Pour over most of the melted chocolate – reserving about 1 tablespoon. Continue to process for a further 10 seconds until the mixture holds together. Scoop 1 tablespoon amounts of mixture and squeeze into balls. Once you have all the mixture shaped you can also dip them into the remaining chocolate and top with some desiccated coconut or natural coloured sprinkles.