Fruit and nut flapjack bars

I do not know anyone who is not partial to the glorious buttery sweet delights of a flapjack. Made with oats its a great gap filler for those hungry mouths and they can be filled with seeds, fruit, nut and spices. They are also extremely easy to do and cheap to make.

As the oats are the main component of these delicious bars, it makes them filling, and also slowly releases energy making them sustainable as an elevenses.

I have seen so many variations of flapjacks in shops and bakeries, and even for online recipes. So it goes without saying that flapjacks are so versatile.

They can be made as protein boosts, or made lower sugar by simply replacing sugars and syrups for lower calorie options such as honey or canderel . With the wonderful world that we live in now, they can even be made gluten free by using gluten free oats instead. Whatever your delights may be, there is something for everyone.

So the recipe I have provided is my fruit and nut flapjack bars, however you can use whatever fillings you would like to them, such as chocolate chips, alternative dried fruit. I would avoid using fresh fruit however as the water content within the fruit will cause an issue with the texture, making them soggy. Alternatively you can remove all fruit and nuts and leave them as simple all butter flapjack bars. scrummy either way.

Ingredients

1. 250g Porridge oats

2. 125g Butter

3. 125g Light brown sugar

4. 2-3 Tbsp. Golden syrup

5. 25g Desiccated Coconut

6. 50g Chopped Hazelnuts

7. 50g Chopped peanuts

8. 85g Sultanas

You will need:

1. Saucepan

2. Wooden Spoon

3. Frying pan

4. Cooling rack

5. Greaseproof paper

6. Baking tray

Oven temperature:

200C/180C fan/ Gas 6

Method

1. Pre heat the oven 200C/ 180C fan/ Gas 6

2. Line your baking tray with the greaseproof paper.

3. In a dry frying pan (no oil or butter) heat the seed and the nuts until they are popping or you can smell the warm nutty aromas.

4. Once the seeds and nuts have fried remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

5. In the saucepan heat the butter, sugar and syrup.

6. Once the butter has melted and all the sugar and syrup have dissolved into a golden liquid remove from the heat.

7. Add the oats to the butter mixture and mix well, until all the oats are coated.

8. Add the chopped nuts, fruit and coconut and mix well.

9. Once al the ingredients are mixed, spoon your mixture into your baking tray and smooth.

10. Place into your preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes until they start to go golden brown.

11. Remove from the oven and whilst still warm score with a knife to create bars.

12. Leave the bars in the tin until cooled.

13. Cut the bars from the cooled flapjack slab and transfer to the cooling rack to completely cool.

NB: This recipe is extremally versatile and will go well with any mixture of nuts, seeds and dried fruit. You can even change the ingredient to incorporate chocolate chips, or even leave them plain and buttery with no added fruit or nuts.

Much love always