My Best Flapjacks

 Several people recently have asked for the recipe for my flapjacks.  It is difficult to give you the ultimate or exact recipe as each time I vary it a little depending on the occasion or the time of the year. I started off with Mary Berry's Fast Flapjack recipe several years ago when I bought 'Baking Bible', and over the years have adjusted it adding on the main more oats and several handfuls of 'other things'. (I shall take more pictures next time I made and update this post with them)

You can look up the tips and understand what can go wrong, and on line the recipes have different ratios compared to the book.

These flapjacks only two pieces remaining, were made for Mr S to take to his session playing trains on some large layout in Dorset, he even took flapjacks to Pete Waterman when he 'played' with him on his layout several years ago when we lived in the Midlands.  They are similar to the ones I sent for Julie and Colin to enjoy with their tea after the lovely delivery of Apple Juices, a couple of days ago. 

These had diced ginger, cranberries and pumpkin seeds.  I'm just having one piece with half an apple for my afternoon tea as I write this.

I use goat's butter which behaves a little differently from cow's butter.  Sometimes I use half rolled oats which are the larger ones and half porridge oats but have also successfully used all porridge oats or all rolled oats, when these were all that I had.

Ingredients

255g Butter

200g demerara sugar I use Billington's

100g Tate & Lyle's golden syrup

350g Porridge oats/rolled oats

In addition I have used all the following, sometimes altogether 

Grated Orange Peel from one orange. Eat the orange for your breakfast!

*Five or size knobs of preserved ginger in syrup, chopped small

A handful of pumpkin seeds/sesame seeds or poppy seeds /chopped pecan nuts/walnuts/pistachios(just one handful either one of these or a mixture, more than two types is too much of a hotch potch)

A handful of dried cranberries/chopped dried apricots/raisins or sultanas/crystallized orange peel(one handful of either one or a combination)

I use an oblong 12 x 8 x 2 inch loose bottomed baking tin by Silverwood, which is ALWAYS lined with baking parchment.

I have one of those useful scales with a glass top, which can be zeroed as each ingredient is added. 

Weight the butter, sugar and golden syrup into a largish pan.  Heat gently till the butter is just melted, and remove from the heat. Stir whilst melting to prevent sticking to the base of the pan.

Use the lined baking tin to weigh the oats in and add to this your extra ingredients.

Tip the dried ingredients into the pan, and mix well, then pour everything back into the lined tin.  Level well with the spatula you used to mix everything.  This means less washing up!

I bake at 140C in a fan oven.  Bake for 35 minutes or until light golden.

Cool in the tin for a few minutes then carefully transfer to a cooling rack.  If they bend a little wait a little longer and they will firm up. For cutting place on a large level board or surface and cut using as long a bladed knife as you have.  When I want to freeze the flapjacks I just parallel lines to the short side of the tin, and freeze lengths, and cut them into individual pieces when they are thawed.

I remember the Tate and Lyle Tins from my earliest years, and very much enjoy looking out for new limited edition tins.  

* In the background is my jar of preserved ginger in syrup which sits on my worktop all the time.  I buy the large bags of crystalised ginger from our Grape Tree Shop in Town, fill the jar add a couple of tablespoon of golden syrup and then top up with boiling water.  It takes a day or so for the ginger to absorb, swell and for all intents and purposes is the same as the ginger in syrup.  Since I reuse the same pretty and sentimental jar each time, no glass needs recycling, and I have two types of ginger on hand.

I've just visited the Tate & Lyle webpage and found an array of delicious sounding flapjack recipes!!!!!