Rarely do I cook or bake during the week unless I have to. (I work nearly 50 hours a week and find that any kitchen activity after such a long day just drains me.) I made an exception when I opened up my Valentine’s Day gift (for my dog) sent from my dad. Included with the gift was an envelope that contained three recipes my grandma had sent me, one of which was this one.
When I picked up this recipe, memories of trips to England flooded my mind. I haven’t been there in over 10 years,but I have been there three times. And every time I went, I ate a flapjack almost every day. At least one a day. Probably sometimes two! I literally lived on these things! They are plentiful in England – especially in train stations, which is where I seemed to always make the purchase – when waiting for a train. I think one of reasons these oatmeal bars were so special was because you couldn’t get them in the States. (Incidentally, I also fell in love with their Cadbury chocolate, which, until a few years ago, I had only ever seen in England and Canada.)
Anyhow, as it’s been many, many years since I’ve been across the pond, I had completely forgotten about these delightful British treats. Grandma Mo, you hit the nail on the head in sending me this recipe. This recipe is so simple, you’ll be inspired to make it on a weeknight, too.
ingredients.
- 1 c. butter
- 1 c. packed brown sugar
- ½ c. golden syrup
- ½ tsp. salt
- 4 c. quick oats
directions.
- Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper (leave some overhang to use as handles) and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a saucepan, heat butter, brown sugar and golden syrup over medium-low heat until butter is melted and sugar dissolved. Stir occasionally.
- Stir in salt and oats and mix until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan and press down with the back of a spoon or spatula.
- Bake in preheated oven 15 to 25 minutes, until edges are golden brown. Cool pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then lift bars out using parchment paper. While bars are still warm, cut. (I cut into 8 bars.) Cool completely before moving or eating, as they will firm up considerably.
OK. So here’s where I diverged: I browned the butter, then stirred in the remaining ingredients. Not sure how to brown butter? See any of my recipes in the brown butter category for an explanation. Why did I do this? Because brown butter makes everything taste better. Duh.
The verdict? The taste … oh the taste. Buttery, golden, sugary deliciousness. The only thing that could make these bars better would be to add a layer of chocolate on top. And now that I’m sifting through the vast confines of my mind remembering those days walking around the streets of London flapjack in hand, I’m pretty those flapjacks were always covered in chocolate.
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 