I take flapjacks very seriously. I have spent the past 6 years or so trying every recipe I stumbled upon with very varied results.
Either too dry, too plain, too sweet, too crumbly, too dull, too greasy, too sticky (never thought that would be a problem as I love ‘em gooey). Anyway, I’m rambling. The search is over. This is the one.
Best Flapjack Recipe in the Whole Wide World.
Ever.
225g/8oz dried dates (maybe also try prunes, apricots or whatever you have in)
175g/6oz Butter (Marg works fine too)
3 tbsp Golden Syrup (honey is also nice, tastes less sweet and more ‘wholesome’)
3oz Sugar – Muscavado is best but any sugar is just fine.
12oz Oats – Use rolled, porridge, whatever you have – I’ve even made it with some muesli that had been lingering in the cupboard too long
As a ‘Chefs Treat’ try scooping the crumbs up that are left on your counter after making these and sprinkle them over a bowl of rich vanilla ice cream. Just heavenly…
EDIT: Just to say this post is getting a crazy amount of hits from Google from folk all over the world. If you’re popping in please stop & say Hi!
ooh that sounds and looks devine and im sure i can even smell it!! Will definately try this recipe!! :)
oooh my DD has been making humungous amounts of flapjacks most weekends and its yummy but she tops it with 2 large bars of chocolate mixed with condensed milk and amazingly its not too sweet, and I like the idea of using honey instead of syrup..will have to tell her x
Well I didn’t know those were called flapjacks. Flapjacks here means pancakes. We call these fruit bars. I love them! My mom has made them before with apricots, apples, you name it. I will have to give your recipe a go. Thanks for sharing.
These look delicious! Here I was expecting pancakes (yup, I’m from the States), but your flapjacks look lovely!So…golden syrup. Is that like maple syrup or agave syrup?
Oh so yummy. I've just gotten back to the US after living in England for a year, and this will be a perfect reminder :)@Anna – golden syrup is basically pure liquid sugar. You can substitute corn syrup, light (!) molasses, or honey, but obviously the taste will be a little bit different in each case.
Great idea to put the fruit in the middle. I had some apricots, but not many, so I added some apricot jam and reduced the sugar slightly in the oat mix. Used a mixture of honey and golden syrup. Results – crumbly but squidgy. May have made them a little thick!BTW, golden syrup is actually a light treacle and so is sweeter than sugar. If you are using liquid sugar then you may want to add some dark treacle (molasses).
After numerous trips to the UK, I'm still looking for that perfect recipe. I'd love to try this one — but am handicapped with the conversions! Is there an American out there who knows what they are?
Since I married an american and am raising my children in america, I feel my children are missing out on my childhood staple – flapjacks! This recipe looks perfect – I haven't made it yet, but I'm looking forward to what looks like the perfect combination of delicious and nutritious!
What on earth do you mean by 'stash' – now come on Janie, it's going to be impossible to stash something as nice as this! I am currently making a batch to compliment my chocolate fountain business – I have a wedding fayre on Sunday and know that these will be a massive help. I don't have the dates so tried sultana's with 1 and a half banana and a bit of rum squashed in! Off to prepare them now – thanks so much. Chris
Got some of these in the oven now – looking forward to them coming out! Thanks for the recipe
can report – really tasty! thanks
I have spent the last 2 weekends trying to get flapjacks a go. First batch, too crumbly, second no sweetness. I am going to give this recipe ago and see. I am hoping for the best. Sounds good, either way. Thanks
I thought this sounded good so tried it today. Used apricots as I didn't have any dates. Don't know if this was the probeelm as they really didn't want to go 'gooey'…the flapjack just fell apart when i tried to cut it, leaving me just with a mass of crumbs. Really diappointing!
Stopping by to say hi since I came by via Google! I don't know exactly what led me to think "I need to search for a flapjack recipe right now" but I did! I think the chain of mental events was something like searching for some other recipe, finding something unrelated, finding a mention of Lyle's Golden Syrup, which brought me back to my time in the UK (I'm American) and then, voila, looking for flapjacks. I'll have to give this a shot!
I'm English and living in Barcelona and miss my flapjacks. I've just made these and they are yummy. I used dates and instead of putting them in the middle I just mixed them in with the oats which has added to the softness. I didn't have golden syrup (as you can't buy it here..grrr) so just used sugar. I think they may have been gooier if I'd used the syrup.Thanks for such a great recipe!
Very tasty, although I used oatmeal and they were very soft. The mixture was quite runny although I followed the quantities exactly. The 25 minute batch had better shape than the 20 minute batch. The dates are a worthwhile addition.
I have made this recipe (plain for my lot) several times. great. I add a bit of flour, which keeps the final result slightly soft, and better for delicate teeth!!! have shared this wonderful recipe post on my farm FB page http://www.facebook/dovefarm
Well, they are nice! I don’t know about them being the best I’ve ever had though. I wish they were a bit sticker and crisper – I suspect a little more syrup is needed. Thanks though! I’ll keep looking.
I made these this week, and they were amazing. I love date slices and these were like a cross between those and flapjacks. I’m going to keep this as flapjack recipe #1 in my kitchen! Thanks very much for sharing it.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed them Zoe! xx
What about with nuts? Gonna try your recipe now but in the end I want to find a way of getting crunchy nuts & seeds in there without it falling apart. Flapjack’s such a winner – without it I waste who knows how much money on nasty chocolate bars day in day out
Hmm, nice. Let us know what you come up with!
Wow oh wow oh wow. This is a keeper and the only flapjack recipe I will ever use. The perfect combination of crunch, chewiness, sweetness and datiness (sorry I know that’s not a word). Thanks so much for sharing
Debbie, you are more than welcome! It makes me so pleased when other people catch this flapjack bug! Enjoy! :o)