Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Flapjacks

Dear readers,

If there are any of you left, thank you for sticking with me. I want to apologize for my absence the last few months. It seems I lost a part of myself somewhere along the way. The part of me that craves cooking, baking, sharing food (love) with others and sharing my experiences with you. Cooking and baking has always grounded me. It’s sorta like therapy, ya know? At any rate, I’ve been off-kilter for a while, but now I’m back. Today I took the plunge by renewing my subscription to wordpress.com, rolling up my shirt sleeves and doing some baking.

A bit of background behind this recipe…

Before Christmas my coworkers took up a collection for me. They wanted to contribute to the baking I had been doing for them for a year. As soon as I had the money in my hands, I promptly stopped all baking. Why? I don’t know. I had been doing some baking for my then boyfriend’s family but hadn’t really been inspired to take anything to work. Probably because my department is so small I’m literally giving two-thirds of what I make to the laptop guys who sit across the hall from us. At any rate, the guilt began to creep up inside me and I figured since we had just brought a new team member on board I should make something to welcome her. So the recipe I’m sharing below is something I made to share with my coworkers.

Flapjacks have been a favorite of mine since I first had them in London back in the late 90s/early 2000s. I was stoked when my grandma sent me a recipe for British Flapjacks a few years ago. British Flapjacks are so simple to make. Butter, oats, brown sugar and Lyle’s Golden Syrup. Have you ever had golden syrup? It’s great on pancakes. You should try it if you haven’t already. Anyway, you’re going to want to get some to make the recipe below. The below recipe is one I’ve made a few times before. But this time I double the recipe to make a 9×13-inch pan instead of a small 8×8-inch pan. I also threw some Reese’s Peanut Butter cups in the middle to give it some extra peanut buttery oomph.

ingredients.

1 c. + 1 c. butter, divided
½ c. + ½ c. peanut butter, divided
1 c. + 1 c. packed brown sugar, divided
½ c. + ½ c. golden syrup, divided
½ tsp. + ½ tsp. salt, divided
4 ⅔ c. + 4 ⅔ c. quick oats, divided
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups,
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c. butterscotch chips

directions.

Line an 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper (leave some overhang to use as handles) and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
I made this in two batches, which is why I asked you to divide the ingredients above. I mixed ingredients for one layer first, topped the layer with peanut butter cups, mixed up the second layer next and then pressed that layer on top of the peanut butter cups. Make sense?
In a saucepan, heat half the butter, half the peanut butter, half the brown sugar and half the golden syrup over medium-low heat until butter is melted and sugar dissolved. Stir occasionally. You can also brown the butter first and then add the other ingredients after the butter has been browned. Browned butter makes every dish taste better!
Stir in half the salt and half the oats and mix until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan and press down with the back of a spoon or spatula.
Top with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Repeat steps three and four with the remaining ingredients.
Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes, until edges are golden brown.
Cool pan on a wire rack. While cooling, place the chocolate and butterscotch chips in a a sauce pan and heat over low heat until the chips have completely melted. Spread over bars.
Cool completely. (I like to rush this step along by popping the dish in the fridge.) Once completely cool, lift bars out using parchment paper and cut into desired shapes.

I cannot stress to you how magical flapjacks are – these flapjacks and the regular ole plain British Flapjack as well. Every time I share flapjacks with coworkers, family and friends, they go nuts. So please do rush to your kitchen to try out this recipe. You’ll thank me! And so will everyone with whom you share these yummy treats.

Recipe rating: 