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Flapjack

September 11, 2017 By Amy 45 Comments

Flapjack Recipe - Baking with Granny. The perfect chewy flapjack, made with Scottish oats and golden syrup.

Us Scots love some oats. Of course there’s porridge, everyone’s favourite winter warmer to set you up on a dreich day. And oatcakes which our youngest has recently found a fondness for; dry, with no butter, cheese or chutney – we’ll introduce him to that luxury in time. But when it comes to a sweet oat treat, there’s nothing that can top Flapjack.

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The perfect Flapjack is something that can spark great debate. Crunchy or chewy? That is the question. And my answer? It’s got to be chewy. When I want a sweet filling treat, I want one that isn’t going to break my teeth and take the enjoyment of it’s entirety away from me.

For a real, proper Flapjack, golden syrup is a must. There’s no denying it. You could try your hands at a honey or maple syrup substitute but it just now the same. If our Golden Syrup Cake wasn’t enough for you to invest in a tin of the liquid gold, Flapjack should be!

The ingredients & recipe for the perfect chewy flapjack is of course of importance but the real secret is actually within the baking. Lucky for us though, Granny has already done all the hard work and come up with a fool-proof flapjack recipe which never fails to please (and induce a much needed sugar-high energy boost).

Granny’s Top Tips

♥ For the perfectly chewy flapjack, you bake it for less time than you’d think. It will come out the oven not looking ready but it will continue to firm up as it cools, leaving a lovely chewy finish. If you prefer a crunchy flapjack, simply bake for a little longer.

Flapjack Recipe - Baking with Granny. The perfect chewy flapjack, made with Scottish oats and golden syrup.

Print Recipe
4.34 from 6 votes

Flapjack

Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time40 mins
Author: Baking with Granny

Ingredients

  • 300 g Butter
  • 180 g Golden Syrup
  • 200 g Light Soft Brown Sugar
  • 400 g Porridge Oats
  • ¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon

Instructions

  • Pre-heat your oven to 180°c (160°c for a fan-assisted oven) and line a 30x20cm baking tray with tin foil and grease generously with butter. Set aside.
  • In a large pan, warm the butter, golden syrup and sugar - stirring regularly - until melted together.
  • In a large bowl, lightly mix the oats and cinnamon before adding the melted mixture and stirring until all the oats are covered.
  • Transfer the mixture to your pre-lined/greased tray and smooth the mixture into the corners.
  • Bake in your pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the middle still has a "slight wobble".
  • Leave to cool completely in the tray (ideally overnight) before removing and cutting into your desired sized slices.
Flapjack Recipe - Baking with Granny. The perfect chewy flapjack, made with Scottish oats and golden syrup.

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Filed Under: cinnamon, recipe, scottish, tray bake

Comments

  1. jenny walters says

    September 13, 2017 at 9:13 pm

    A good chewy middle with crisp edges is my absolute flapjack fave, I don’t think there are many better sweet treats. This recipe looks blinkin lovely. I will have to bake some soon!

    Reply
    • Amy says

      September 14, 2017 at 9:59 pm

      Thanks for commenting, Jenny. I’m a sucker for a crispy edge too! Can’t say I’m disappointed by the kids choosing the middle slices and leaving the edges for me :)

      Reply
  2. Julie McPherson says

    September 14, 2017 at 10:47 am

    These flapjacks look fabulous, a brilliant after school treat. Commenting as BritMums Baking Round-up Editor. :)

    Reply
    • Amy says

      September 14, 2017 at 10:01 pm

      Most definitely, Julie! I actually found myself making another tray this afternoon – at my 5 year old’s instructions(!) just so there was more for when he got home from school :)

      Reply
  3. Iris says

    September 27, 2017 at 6:50 am

    Definitely going to make these as my daughter has a wheat problem, can I add coconut or fruit to the mixture?

    Reply
  4. Demelza Whyte says

    March 6, 2018 at 9:16 pm

    Do I need to cover overnight?

    Reply
  5. Daniel says

    March 10, 2018 at 1:30 am

    I grew up knowing this as “Bird Seed Pie” at primary school. For over 40 years I have asked people if they knew how to make it, but no-one had ever heard of “Bird Seed Pie”… until last week when an school friend said “Oh, you mean flapjack?”
    All is right with the world again :)

    Reply
  6. Fiona says

    March 10, 2018 at 3:36 pm

    It’s lovely but it’s would say don’t use tin foil. I used it and greased but still stuck a lot. Baking parchment a recommendation. But nice flapjacks

    Reply
    • Dan says

      March 10, 2018 at 5:18 pm

      Absolutely agree. Flapjack was delicious, but the tin foil was a disaster.

      Reply
  7. Jay says

    March 21, 2018 at 4:09 pm

    Line the tin with FOIL!! Ridiculous, stuck horribly to underside, greased well also!! Gave up picking foil off, through away, wasted money & time. Stupid methodology. Baking paper should be used.

    Reply
    • Bee says

      September 13, 2018 at 8:04 am

      No need for the stress and aggression, Jay. Foil worked absolutely fine for me. I coated it with 1 cal spray. The best flapjack recipe I’ve had so far! Thanks, Baking with Granny x

      Reply
    • lissie says

      April 5, 2019 at 11:22 am

      i am currently trying to follow mary berry way from her cookbook guide. the first batch turned out well actually, except from they stuck but i didn’t have any baking paper so i just buttered the tin they were in, it wasn’t;t that bad, got 4 out of 9 and the others were still edible just crumbly and broken up. i am baking for a charity so i want them to be nicely presented. doing my second batch today with baking paper as i got some last night! fingers crossed. they are in the oven at the moment…

      Reply
  8. Maggie says

    May 6, 2018 at 5:42 pm

    Does it work with greaseproof paper?

    Reply
    • Gemma says

      July 24, 2018 at 7:40 am

      Yes x

      Reply
  9. Jenna says

    June 18, 2018 at 12:26 pm

    Totally agree with the tin foil, it sticks and parchment isn’t much better. If you can get to ikea they sell silicone liners which are amazing, I think mine was about £1.80 and I use it for everything, perfect for flapjack! X

    Reply
  10. Gemma says

    July 24, 2018 at 7:39 am

    This is by far the best flapjack recipe ive found thankyou for sharing it xx

    Reply
  11. JILL DUCKER says

    September 5, 2018 at 1:37 pm

    Omg! I’ve tried lots of different recipes inc Jamie and BBC ( my go to recipe sites) and I have to say this is by far the best thank you

    Reply
  12. Jill says

    September 5, 2018 at 1:53 pm

    Ps. Having read previous comments I used parchment paper. Perfect

    Reply
  13. Kathleen says

    September 16, 2018 at 6:21 pm

    Oh dear, I just greased a non stick baking tray. Hope it comes out of the tin ok

    Reply
  14. Bob says

    October 15, 2018 at 6:07 pm

    Top tip, do NOT line the tin with foil.

    Reply
  15. Fay Pickard says

    February 12, 2019 at 8:11 am

    Any comments on freezing and how long they will last for?

    Reply
  16. Gillian Taylor says

    February 24, 2019 at 8:50 pm

    I made this today and they were much too gooey and the tin foil was a disaster.
    HELP!!!!!!

    Reply
  17. Francesca says

    March 12, 2019 at 5:00 pm

    I’ve tried these twice and so far they have never stuck together in the middle, they’ve just crumbled. The edges were fine though but what am I doing wrong? I followed the recipe…

    Reply
    • Courtney says

      March 14, 2019 at 9:22 pm

      You could possibly try making the later thinner so the middle cooks quicker too? It worked for me
      Yeah

      Reply
  18. Berna says

    March 24, 2019 at 11:02 am

    Just made these flapjacks, and i have to say, i love them!! I’ll be keeping this recipe, thank you!!

    Reply
  19. Sheila says

    March 28, 2019 at 11:28 pm

    This recipe is delicious! It is perhaps sacrilegious to say that my family are not huge flapjack fans — too hard, too soft, too sweet… However, with the huge number of bake sales that I seem to be saddled with lately I decided I needed an easy(ish) popular (with most) bake to take along, so needed to add flapjacks to my repertoire. My husband & daughter were jostling each other out of the way to get to the pan to get the last bits out.

    I did not use foil — used parchment paper, and it worked perfect, no butter needed. I did not have light brown sugar on hand, so used a combination of dark brown & golden caster, both of which I did have on hand, about 50/50. I also doubled the recipe (not a problem with this recipe) and spread 1/2 of mixture out in pan, sprinkled over some (not a lot) chocolate chips, then spread the remainder of the mixture over that. Once it was all cooked and cooled a bit I melted some chocolate and drizzled over the top (not a lot). Was trying to achieve the same effect of the fancy flapjacks that I have bought now & then at M&S. These are better.

    So, thanks for the delicious recipe, and I’m glad that I was very particular about which recipe I eventually decided to try. I looked at ingredients and reviews, and landed on yours — so glad that I did, as this recipe is a keeper.

    Reply
  20. Gaynor says

    April 8, 2019 at 2:35 pm

    Today is the third time I’ve used this recipe and they are in the oven as I write. They smell lovely! I add a bit more syrup as we like them chewy. Tried non-stick greaseproof paper instead of tin foil as both lots done before stuck!

    Reply
  21. barbara wilson says

    April 13, 2019 at 7:04 pm

    Can it be softened as mine is too hard ? Lol

    Reply
  22. En says

    May 29, 2019 at 6:39 pm

    Can you confirm if you put the flapjacks in the middle of oven or the top?!

    Thanks

    Reply
  23. En says

    May 30, 2019 at 3:44 pm

    Parchment paper is DEFINATELY better than foil! Tried and tested both ways.

    Sticks to foil but not to parchment paper.

    Reply
  24. Sharon says

    June 3, 2019 at 11:58 am

    Hi wondering can you put fresh or dried fruit in the mixture?

    Reply
    • Anna says

      July 10, 2019 at 7:31 am

      I sometimes chop up some dried cranberries or apricots and mix through…..

      Reply
  25. Damon Street says

    June 9, 2019 at 4:07 pm

    5 stars
    I make these almost every week with my son. He takes them to school for a mid morning snack and I use them for fuel on long bike rides.

    We love them!

    We don’t use foil and to be honest we keep pouring the oats in until we think the consistency is right. 9 times out of 10 they’re perfect, 1 time out of 10 I have to scoff them all myself

    Reply
  26. Lynne says

    July 21, 2019 at 10:28 am

    2 stars
    Must have done something wrong mine were way to soggy. Just fell apart as I tried to get out of the tin. Tasted good though

    Reply
  27. Janet says

    July 22, 2019 at 12:55 pm

    5 stars
    Good basic recipe for flapjacks. I added chopped dried apricots, sultanas and grated orange zest to the mix.
    Used baking parchment to line tin but didn’t grease this, just added the mixture and popped into the oven.
    Ovens do have differences in temperature my new gas oven needs to be turned up a little compared to my old appliance,
    this could be why some reviews are reporting underbaked.

    Reply
  28. Cora says

    August 20, 2019 at 2:24 pm

    4 stars
    I think I would use less butter next time, the top of the flapjack is good but the bottom still has liquid butter in it! Also, do not use a spring form tin, it’s the only thing I had but the butter leaked out of the bottom.

    Overall, great recipe but I will tweak it next time.

    Reply
  29. Robin says

    September 14, 2019 at 2:55 am

    Do you know what the Canadian equal of porridge oats are? We have steel cut, large flake , quick cooking, rolled… etc. Google isn’t being helpful.

    Can this be made with steel cut oats?

    Reply
  30. Gemma says

    September 29, 2019 at 1:42 pm

    Hi can someone please confirm so we cook these in the middle of the oven or the top?

    Reply
  31. Hazel says

    October 11, 2019 at 8:38 am

    I only have a Pyrex dish, not a tin. Will this work as well?

    Reply
  32. Lynn Middleton says

    October 22, 2019 at 6:16 pm

    Added chopped dates and sultanas to the mix, family said they were the best flapjacks ever. High praise indeed. Thank you for the delicious recipe.

    Reply
  33. Roger Sayer says

    October 29, 2019 at 7:14 pm

    5 stars
    I have just made my second batch, absolutely delicious; the first time I got some dark soft sugar by mistake, but it was a good mistake !! I have used it again this time. Thank you for a great recipe; can you make flapjack with Maple Syrup ?

    Reply
    • Galahad says

      November 20, 2019 at 7:08 pm

      Yes, but I don’t think it will be as sticky as golden syrup. You could substitute some of the sugar for it I reckon

      Reply
  34. Zara says

    October 30, 2019 at 11:10 am

    5 stars
    Is salted or unsalted butter used for this?

    Reply
    • Galahad says

      November 20, 2019 at 7:05 pm

      I would say either depending on your own taste, try baking one of each and make a comparison

      Reply
  35. Shane Saunders says

    November 24, 2019 at 4:25 pm

    I made these yesterday but 300 grams of butter was far too much, the oats were swimming in fat I would halve the butter next time

    Reply

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