Triple Chocolate Muesli Bars

Typical Auckland spring weather today, mostly overcast with a sprinkle of rain just to make it that little bit more unpleasant.  So today instead of getting out into the garden as hoped I've spent the day tidying and organising the pantry.  Maybe I'm the only one who ends up with small amounts of forgotten things in the back of the pantry - a handful of cocoa pops, that last little bit of coconut that won't fit in the container etc.  This recipe is perfect for this predicament.  It is a fantastic way to use up all those leftover bits of muesli and cereal in the pantry and has infinite variations.  Today I made a double chocolate version that is the best yet.   This recipe is based on one by Sophie Gray called Muesli Bar Magician.  It works with all sorts of muesli/granola and cereal - so delicious using the homemade muesli I will be posting soon or as I usually do a mix of all sorts.

200g butter
1/2 cup golden syrup (if you don't have golden syrup you could use honey)
5 cups muesli/cereal (today this was made up of 1/2 cup cocoa pops, 1 cup crushed special K, 3 cups toasted muesli and a final half cup made up of sultanas, coconut and a few rolled oats to make up the 5 cups)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs baking soda
1/4 cup boiling water
100g white chocolate
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.  Line a 33cm X 24 cm sponge roll tin with baking paper.  Melt the butter & golden syrup together in a large bowl.  Dissolve the baking soda in the water and add to the butter/syrup mixture, add all other ingredients except for the white choc and mix well.
Using wet hands press the mixture into the prepared time and roll firmly over the top with a can to compress the mixture.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden and firm.  Cool in the tray.  While the slice cools melt the white chocolate then drizzle over the slice.  When the choc has set, slice into bars and enjoy.  These freeze well so I have 5 lovely little packages for school lunches this week and the rest are in the freezer for another time.