South African Crunchies - GS World Thinking Day

This year our troop chose the country of South Africa to participate in Girl Scout World Thinking Day.  As part of our WTD presentation, we thought we would like to offer a little treat to our "visiting" troops.  Crunchies are popular cookie (or biscuit) in South Africa and are reminiscent of a chunchy-style granola bar.  There are several recipes out there on the web.  I based our recipe mostly on this recipe from "Lick Your Own Bowl".  I adapted the recipe a bit for American ingredients and added a chocolate drizzle on top for an extra finish.  Truthfully, they are excellent plain and actually my daughter prefers them that way!

South African Crunchies

1½ sticks butter
2 Tablespoons golden syrup, or cane syrup*
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or whole wheat flour
2 cups whole rolled oats
1 cup coconut

1 Tablespoon grated orange zest (from one orange)

1-2 oz. chocolate melting wafers, optional

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Prepare a 9 x 13” pan by greasing lightly and lining the pan with parchment paper. Measure the dry ingredients (oats, flour, coconut, zest, and salt) into a large mixing bowl. 

 In a saucepan, melt the butter with the sugar and syrup on a medium-high heat, stirring to combine. When the mixture reaches a low boil, turn off the heat. Carefully add the baking soda and stir gently. The mixture will bubble up a bit, so be careful. Add the hot butter/sugar mix into the dry ingredients and stir to combine until evenly coated. 

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly. 

 Place another piece of parchment or waxed paper on top and smooth and press the mixture into the pan.

 Remove extra paper and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. After removing from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan and cutting in to squares. 

Crunchies

Optional – after cutting into squares, melt chocolate in a microwave safe dish. Drizzle melted chocolate over crunchies using the tines of a fork. Allow chocolate to set before serving. (Makes about 4 dozen)

* may substitute dark corn syrup if you can't find the cane syrup.

Crunchies with chocolate drizzle

Brigadeiros - Brazil GS World Thinking Day

World Thinking Day for our Girl Scout troop this weekend went really well, although it was sweltering hot at the Lodge.  Brazil was our country and we made brigadeiros for our sample treat.  They were a hit!  Several people came up for the recipe.  I don't know why I didn't think to make recipe cards for the table.  They are super easy to make and the girls helped with the rolling out and coating in sprinkles part.

Brigadeiros

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
4 Tbs. cocoa powder
1 Tbs. Butter
sprinkles

Add the milk, cocoa and butter in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan.  Heat the mixture on medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Allow the mixture to simmer for about 5-10 minutes, stirring to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.  The mixture will thicken and begin to pull away from the pan when it's ready.  Pour onto a greased jelly-roll pan or baking sheet.  Allow to cool completely before forming into balls (about 1 teaspoon-sized) and rolling in sprinkles (either rainbow or chocolate)  or any other topping of your choosing.  The candy is slightly soft and sticky, so a little cooking spray on the hands may help to roll the balls out.  You can also pop the mixture in the fridge for a bit to firm it up.  Storing them, in a sealed container, in the fridge or freezer until ready to serve will keep them fresh.