Just the other day it occurred to me that I started this blog a year ago. A year ago today, in fact. Grand plans for a special post would have been nice. But really, what I generally do to celebrate is bake something special. So today we had flapjacks.
Have you ever had flapjacks? And I'm not talking about pancakes called flapjacks. I'm talking about British Flapjacks. A British co-worker introduced me to them forever ago and I instantly fell in love with the buttery, carmeley treat. I hadn't thought about them in years. But when I saw a recipe in my March Bon Appetit magazine (the article is a fun read as well), I knew I'd have to give it a go. And today I made them--my kind of celebration, for sure.
The ingredients couldn't be simpler (but one ingredient might require a bit of a search): unsalted butter, brown sugar, quick cooking oats (I used old-fashioned as that's all I had on hand), a pinch of salt, and golden syrup. I found the golden syrup at Wegmans but not at my other area supermarkets.
You melt the butter, syrup, and brown sugar until everything is nice and gooey--a heavy bottom pot comes in handy to avoid overheating. Next, you add the oats and salt, press into a pan, and bake untiil everything is nice and crusty. Waiting for the flapjacks to cool is the hardest part...the aroma it gives off while baking is amazing.
Actually, I didn't exactly wait for them to cool and set up before I dug in. And I'm okay with that.
A few notes: the boys looooooved these. Not a huge surprise, really, as they love oatmeal baked goods with a passion. I envision lots of concoctions with their favorite add-ins--coconut, nuts, dried fruit, anything along those lines would work very well.
Even after our flapjacks cooled completely, they were pretty crumbly. I have a feeling it has to do with using old-fashioned oats instead of the quick-cooking variety--next time I'll stick to the recipe and compare.
Now, back to the year-old blog...I am very happy I started this little project a year ago and am determined to keep it up. But I do have some thoughts and plans that I will share soon...nothing major, just some goals to help me get more done. Here is my original post--the year went by awfully fast if you ask me.
xoxo, Sandra
(flapjacks recipe after the jump)
British Flapjacks
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
- 1/4 cup golden syrup*
- 2 1/3 cups quick-cooking oats (not instant or old-fashioned)
- Pinch of salt
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* A type of syrup popular in Great Britain; available at some supermarkets, specialty foods stores, and British import shops.
Preparation
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan. Combine first 3 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until butter melts, sugar dissolves, and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Add oats and salt; stir until coated. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and spread out in even layer.
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Bake until top is golden (edges will be darker), about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 5 minutes. Cut into 4 squares; cut each into 4 triangles (mixture will still be soft). Cool completely in pan before serving.