4 Flapjack Recipes To Bake This Weekend

Simple to make and often requiring ingredients you’ve already got in the cupboards, flapjacks are always a good idea. The traditional version is made with oats, brown sugar, golden syrup and butter, but you can jazz them up in all sorts of ways – adding dried fruit, chocolate chips, nuts or whatever you fancy. Keen to whizz some up this weekend? We’ve rounded up some flapjack recipes below.

Flapjack Recipes

Recipe: Cherry Bakewell Flapjacks

Soft oats, deliciously flavoured with almond and bursting with the jammy flavours of sweet, juicy cherries that bejewel the top. These are perfect for breakfast, as an afternoon snack and even for pudding – a tasty low-sugar treat!

• Makes 16 flapjacks
• Prep: 10 minutes / Bake Time: 17–22 minutes
• Freezable

Ingredients:

• 1 x 410g (14oz) can of prunes in fruit juice
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 100g (1 cup) ground almonds
• 350g (31 ⁄2 cups) rolled porridge oats
• 150g (2 ⁄3 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 200g (11 ⁄4 cups) frozen dark sweet pitted cherries (unsweetened)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C/400°F/Gas 6) and line a 20cm (8in) square brownie tin with non-stick baking paper.
2. Add the prunes, along with the juice, to a mixing bowl. If they haven’t already been pitted, take each prune and squish it in your hand to find and remove the stone. Then take a potato masher or the back of a large ladle and squash the fruit to turn it into a purée – this will also help you find any stones you may have missed.
3. Next, add the almond extract and ground almonds to the prune purée and stir well. Add the oats and melted butter before giving one final stir, ensuring that all the oats are coated and starting to soak up the liquid.
4. Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and spread it out evenly. Using the back of a tablespoon, even out the top of the flapjack, making sure there are no lumps and bumps.
5. Scatter the frozen cherries over the top (no need to defrost) and, using your palm, press the fruit into the flapjack to embed it into the oats.
6. Bake in the centre of your preheated oven for 17–22 minutes until the edges of the oats are turning golden and the cherries have burst their juices into the flapjack.
7. Remove from the oven and allow the flapjack to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before using the baking paper to lift the entire bake out of the tin and onto a chopping board. Cut into 16 squares and enjoy warm or cold with a little yogurt, if you like.

Love your leftovers: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature, or keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Either defrost at room temperature and enjoy within 24 hours, or defrost and reheat in a hot oven until piping hot throughout. Delicious served with ice cream!

Fast Family Food by Rebecca Wilson is published by DK. Out now, £18.99. dk.com

Oaty Chewy Flapjack Bites

• Serves 12
• 15 minutes prep
• 20 minutes cooking

Ingredients:

• 1 x 410g can Princes Black Cherry Fruit Filling
• 1 x 395g can Princes Apple Fruit Filling
• A little vegetable oil, for greasing
• 150g butter, cut into pieces
• 150g golden syrup
• 350g porridge oats
• Pinch of salt
• 1 large egg, beaten

Method:

1. Tip the cans of Fruit Filling into two separate strainers to drain off the sauce. Stir the fruit filling in the strainers to drain off as much sauce as possible.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan oven 180°C, Gas Mark 6. Use a little oil to grease a 12-hole loose-based mini loaf tin, or use a 12-hole muffin tray.
3. Gently melt the butter and syrup together in a large saucepan, without letting the mixture get too hot. Remove from the heat and stir in the porridge oats and salt. Stir in the beaten egg.
4. Split the mixture in two, then stir the cherry filling into one half, and the apple filling into the other half. Share the two mixtures between the prepared tin.
5. Bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes, until set and golden brown. Cool, then carefully remove from the tins.

Recipe by Princes Fruit

Pecan and Maple Syrup Flapjacks

Ingredients:

• 300g butter, plus extra to grease
• 150ml pure maple syrup (preferably dark for its robust taste)
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 75g shelled pecans, toasted in a dry pan and chopped
• 500g rolled oats

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 140°C.
2. Put the butter, maple syrup and cinnamon in a pan with a pinch of salt and stir until melted. Add the nuts and oats and stir well with a wooden spoon to coat.
3. Spoon the mixture into the lined cake tin, level the top, pressing down slightly, then bake for 25-30 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and score 16 squares, then leave to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack.
5. For the topping, put the chocolate and maple syrup in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water); heat until just melted, then stir and drizzle over the flapjacks.
6. Sprinkle with chopped pecans, then cut into squares to serve.

Recipe by Maple from Canada UK

Beauty Bars

These bars are packed full of skin-boosting vitamins and minerals from all the nuts and seeds. This recipe is pretty versatile, so you can mix the nuts and seeds to use up whatever you may have lurking in the cupboards. Will keep in an airtight container for 3 days, or longer in the fridge.

Makes about 10 slices

Ingredients:

• Flavourless oil, for greasing
• 100g pitted dates
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 200ml hot water
• 80g nut butter
• 150g mixed seeds
• 100g oats
• 50g almonds

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease the base and sides of an 18cm square brownie tin and line with baking parchment.
2. Soak the dates and chia seeds in the hot water for 10 to15 minutes, until they get nice and plump and the liquid has cooled down.
3. Blend the dates and chia seeds and their soaking water with the nut butter to make a smooth paste. Mix this paste with the remaining ingredients and press into the lined tin with the back of a spoon.
4. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and it feels firm when pressed.
5. Cut into slices while still warm and in its baking tin, but allow to cool completely before turning out.

Recipe by Amelia Freer, published in Simply Good For You