Flapjacks

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These very British oaty treats, known as flapjacks, are as delicious with a cup of tea at home as they are half way up a mountain, come winter or summer. With a crispy top and chewy under layer, these flapjacks hold together well and are very easily transportable. Loaded with oats, sweet and buttery, with a salty kick, they are ideal as an energy boost and special treat to keep you going through a tough day at work, a long hike or bike in the mountains or simply an addictive treat to get you through the day.

Whilst recognising that these delicious squares are very effective as an energy boost, I am not claiming they are a health food! In fact, I think one of the reasons they are so utterly moreish and delicious, is that they are loaded with butter and sweetness with a hit of salt. None of us can resist them, (even Andrew – this is yet another treat he cannot resist whilst continuing to claim he doesn’t like sweet things!). The only way I can ration them is to make sure I do not make them too frequently!

My Dad loved flapjacks and I have lost count of the number of batches I have made since I was a school girl. I use a slightly different recipe now – the original one I used was sometimes fabulous and sometimes a bit too crispy. The recipe measured the golden syrup in tablespoons and I suspect I wasn’t as specific as I needed to be. This recipe measures the syrup by weight and is therefore much more reliable.

My friend Ilid, who has been trying out my recipes, asked if I had a flapjack recipe. I met Ilid many moons ago through our mutual friend Karen, who I was at school with. If I happened to mention to Karen that I had made some flapjacks, she would, without fail, come up with a reason why she needed to come back to my house after school, and of course have a flapjack! After all her cooking, Ilid is looking for recipes which are good to share now that we can finally meet up with friends, albeit with social distancing in mind. So here goes, a treat for Ilid and Karen!

How to make Flapjacks

Flapjacks are surprisingly easy to make and use only a handful of ingredients. The key is to be specific when weighing out the ingredients and not over-cooking them.

Collect all your ingredients together and line the baking tin:

In order to guarantee the consistency of your flapjacks, it is important to use the correct size tin – in this case it is a 20cm/8inch square tin. If your tin is larger the depth of your flapjacks will be less and they will cook more quickly. Equally if the tin is smaller, your flapjacks will be deeper and cook more slowly.

1. Sit the tin on greaseproof paper making sure the paper is large enough to line the tin, come up the sides and have a little overhang.
2. Cut out the corners of the paper so it will fit easily into the tin
3. Fold the paper from corner to corner so the size of the centre of the paper matches the base of the tin. Slot inside the tin.

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Flapjack ingredients:

• butter
• golden syrup
• demerara sugar
• salt
• jumbo oats
• porridge oats

How to make these amazing Flapjacks:

1. Slowly melt the butter, golden syrup, Demerara sugar and salt over a moderate heat until the sugar has mostly dissolved. This should only take 2 – 3 minutes.
2. Weigh the oats directly onto the mix and thoroughly stir.
3. Tip into a 20cm/8inch parchment lined baking tin, pat down until compact and level and cook.
4. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then, using the baking parchment overhang, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Slice when cold.

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Made this recipe?

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