Flapjacks – A Tasty Oat Traybake

In the UK Flapjacks are a firm favourite.  They are very simple to make, and just so delicious and contain so few ingredients.  Most of the ingredients are likely to be in the food cupboard of most British homes.

So these are not the same as flapjacks in the USA which I believe is a type of pancake.

Oats, butter, golden syrup, sugar and a pinch of salt is all it takes to make Flapjacks.  That doesn’t sound much, but put them together and they really do create a wonderfully chewy treat.  They can be made crunchy, by baking longer and layering thinner, but the traditional flapjack is the lovely chewy version.

For the oats I used porridge (or porage depending on how you like to spell it) oats and added some rolled oats.  Porage oats tend to be slightly smaller than the rolled one, so are better suited to this recipe.  The rolled oats, being just that little bit larger, give a better look to the top of the flapjacks but they don’t affect the flavour. 

From start to finish they only take 40 minutes to make, though you should wait for them to cook before cutting into bars or squares.

Mine turned out just exactly as I like them, nice and chewy and tasting simply delicious.  With a recipe this simple I can think of no reason why anyone would opt to buy those in supermarkets which certainly don’t taste as good.

                                               Flapjacks – VideoIngredients:

• 400g porridge(porage) oats
• 100g rolled oats
• 250 unsalted butter
• 250g soft light brown sugar
• 100g(5 tbsp) golden syrup) (at a push you could use maple syrup or honey)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F.
2. Line a baking pan with parchment paper (mine was 20cm X 30cm(8X12 inches).
3. Mix the oats together(you could use just porridge oats) and mix in the salt.
4. In a large saucepan put the butter, golden syrup and sugar and heat until all have melted and mixed together.
5. Take the butter mixture off the heat and add the oats. (you could do this in a large bow rather than the saucepan).
6. Mix all the ingredients together until the oats are fully coated with the wet mixture and are sticking together.
7. Tip the mixture into the lined baking tin and press down to level out across the tin.
8. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to brown and dry out.
9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
10. As the flapjacks cool you can score the top into the sizes you want.
11. When fully cooled cut into the size you wish and serve.