Nothing says nostalgia like the humble flapjack. We believe that the flapjack is a staple recipe that everyone needs up their sleeve. Very easy to make and requiring few storecupboard ingredients, it's the perfect bake for a quick sugar fix.
Texture
Crunchy or chewy is the real question when it comes to flapjacks. If you prefer a crunchy flapjack, then bake your mixture in a shallow baking tin, at a slightly higher temperature and for longer.
To make sure your flapjacks aren't too crumbly to handle, firmly press your oats into the tin prior to baking and fully cool your flapjacks in the tin before removing and cutting into squares.
Oats
You can use any oats that you have in your cupboard to make flapjacks, each oat will provide a different texture. However, the main two types of oats used in flapjacks are jumbo and porridge.
Jumbo Oats: This is when oat groats are steamed and then passed through a roller to produce large oats. This is the preferred choice of oats for many flapjack recipes as they provide more of an interesting texture and a chewy bite. Using purely jumbo oats can result in a more crumbly flapjack that's a little more fragile.
Porridge Oats: This is when groats are ground into smaller pieces, meaning they are quicker to cook. In a flapjack recipe, these oats provide a closer and crunchier texture.
Sometimes a combination of the two types of oats is used to create a flapjack with an interesting texture that's easier to handle.
Sugar
Using brown sugar over white will add a deeper, toffee flavour to your flapjacks and using sugars with larger crystals, such as demerara, will result in a slight sweet crunch running through your flapjacks.
Golden syrup is the preferred choice over honey as honey tends to overpower the flavour of the flapjacks.
Flavourings
We use cinnamon, orange zest and raisins to flavour the flapjacks in the recipe below, but you can use any of your favourite flavourings.
• Mix chocolate chips through the oat mixture before it goes in the oven
• Mix dried/freeze dried fruit through the oat mixture before it goes in the oven
• Drizzle melted chocolate over the cooled flapjacks
• Drizzle melted peanut butter over the cooled flapjacks
• Mix frozen fruit through the oat mixture before it goes in the oven
