When I was about 4 years old my mother made finger foods for the church on every odd Sunday. These are one of the recipes she made. Like any typical kid I especially wanted to help her make these blobs of chocolate heaven. Constantly I was told to keep my fingers out of the sweet, thick mixture but how could I resist? At least I got to lick the pot out afterwards. During sermons all I could think about was my “sjokolade jungle oat koekies”, wishing the dominie (reverend) would come to a conclusion. Any conclusion, even if we all burn in hell I simply didn’t care for as long as I could eat my “koekies” first I will die happy.
When the sermon finished at last I would race downstairs to the eating hall and wait impatiently as the women dawdled getting all the food ready. When the cling film was removed I pounced. Bliss.
Therefore I think this recipe is great for getting kids to start cooking, with supervision of course. This is a hit at birthday parties!
Chocolate & Coconut Clusters
Servings 16
Author: Michelle Minnaar
Ingredients
- 60ml (¼ cup) butter
- 250ml (1 cup) sugar
- 60ml (¼ cup) cocoa
- 60ml (¼ cup) milk
- 500ml (1½ cup) oats
- 125ml (½ cup) dessicated coconut
- 1ml (¼ teaspoon) vanilla essence
Instructions
- Melt the butter, and then add the sugar, cocoa and milk in a pot.
2. Boil the mixture for 5 minutes.
3. Add the oats, coconut and vanilla to the mixture.
4. Make sure to stir the concoction thoroughly.
5. Drop spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Leave to cool.
Recipe Notes
- Use a pot with a small surface area because the mixture can dry very quickly. If you’re not quick on your feet and leave it on the stove too long after it has been mixed, you will end up with a granola effect.
Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 170 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 9.1g | 14% | |
Saturated Fat 6.8g | 34% | |
Sodium 28mg | 1% | |
Total Carbohydrates 23.5g | 8% | |
Dietary Fiber 3.1g | 12% | |
Sugars 16.5g | ||
Protein 2.3g | 6% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Oooh, I remember these! Yum – thanks for reminding me. Must bookmark them to bake soon…
Jeanne, I forgot about these clusters until I paged through a Cook and Enjoy It/Kook en Geniet. I rewrote the original recipe and included more oats as well. Any feedback would be highly appreciated.
Michelle, you’re my hero! I’m 36 weeks pregnant, and woke up this morning with a craving for these! My folks gave me the “Klein Kook en Geniet” when I was 6, and that has been my favourite recipe. Immediately going to introduce my toddler to this – he’ll love helping out!
My daughter asked for these cookies to be made just for Christmas. Couldn’t find my recipe anywhere. I have been searching the net for over an hour for this exact recipe. Thank you for posting the picture
I new I had the right one but my children call them Chocolate Cow Plops because my husband require them to be made “Man size” This has been the joke for years. Have a Merry Christmas, I know I will
Wendy: What a fun name! It’s amazing how something so simple can satisfy children on many levels. 🙂
Chocolate, coconut and oats sounds like a great combo!
WAY WAY WAY too much oats!!! i followed the recipe exactly and i now have chocolate granola in a bowl. i guess it will be good for breakfast but there’s no way that this pot will be cookie material… not enough chocolate to hold the cookies together!
Kevin: It sure is!
Alissa: I’m sorry you’ve had a bad experience with the recipe. After your comment I experimented again and found that less oats do make a moister and more manageable mix. The recipe has now been updated with some notes. Thanks for your feedback. It’s greatly appreciated.
Tried this one and loved it. Now I’m hooked. Great post and great photos too! Hope that you would feature more and more yummy, tasty and delicious chocolate recipes. I’ve added this on top of my list of chocolate recipes. Thanks for posting this..
–Stephen
This reminds me of an energy bar with the oats. Great idea, Keep up the good work!
What a fun little treat! They look delicious!
My family has been making this for many years. When asked what she was cooking my aunt told us kids it was “Dog Food”. The name stuck to this day.
Sometimes coconut and sometimes not. But there is not too much oats in this recipie! The problem is the 5 minute boiling time. Once the mixture reaches a rolling boil I time it at ONE minute. Any less and they may not set. Any more and you get the “granola” problem or maybe just hard cookies.
You are boiling sugar. Follow the recipie, but cut way back on the boiling time to ONE minute.
wow, these have been my alltime fave, treat. Making them now for Diwali! Hope i can keep some to share!
These bring back very fond memories, although the peanut ones were always my favourite.
Adding a little peanut butter during the boiling process makes a very nice variation on this classic.
We use to call them “slapjangorie” They are the best ever! Thanks, I’ve been looking for the recipe!
Oh WOW! I have been looking for this recipe since my eldest was born almost 6 years ago! I absolutely love these! Thank you so much! I can’t imagine my or my childrens childhood without them 🙂
Ps. The recipe used to be on the Jungle Oats box.
Glad you found the recipe at last. Did your kids like it? 🙂
I made these and they are SUPER sticky…. do I just need to let them set longer? (it’s been 1.5 hrs) My 2 y.o. won’t touch them because they are so messy, lol. But 3.5 y.o. and I are licking the mess of spoons!
Yeay! Dankie vir die resep! Ek is nou vanoggend lus daarvoor en is seker my man het dit nognooit gehad nie. Ek en my sussie het dit altyd op laerskool ver R2 ‘n sakkie verkoop. 🙂 Hierdie is ‘n kleintyd resep wat alle kinders moet hê.
Groete Lizelle
Baie dankie! Ander het dit ook reeds genoem, maar ek het met hierdie prentjie (herinnering) in my kop begin google, en is so bly om die resep te kon vind. Was dit nie vir die onweerstaanbare foto nie, sou ek dit dalk kon mis. Dis beslis iets wat ook deel van my seuns se kinderjare moet wees. Baie, baie dankie!