Oat & seed flapjacks

Winter

My daughters loved making these flapjacks with their Nannar – it was an almost guaranteed activity if they went to stay up at the house. When I’d arrive to pick up the girls, the flapjacks either would be cooling in the tray beside the Rayburn or would have already been cut and placed in the flapjack tin that sat on the shelf with the rest of the tins (tins for crisps, tins for biscuits, tins for tea...). The flapjacks were always a distraction away from being too sticky and the anticipation of a child away from being too hard. Sometimes there were seeds, other times not. This recipe is my interpretation of a recipe that has never been written down. The girls and I have agreed they’re pretty close to the real thing.

Makes about 12

Ingredients

150g (5½oz) butter, plus extra for greasing
4 tablespoons golden syrup
75g (2½oz) soft brown sugar
250g (9oz) porridge oats
4 tablespoons mixed seeds, including pumpkin, sunflower, flaxseeds and sesame

Method

Heat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3 and grease a 20 x 30cm (8 x 12in) baking tray.

Place the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar in a large heavy-based pan. Heat gently, stirring often, until the butter and sugar have just melted, about 3–4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the porridge oats and two-thirds of the seeds. Mix everything together well with a wooden spoon.

Turn the mixture out onto the prepared baking tray, spread it evenly and level it out with a rubber spatula. Scatter over the remaining seeds and place in the oven for 18–20 minutes until golden.

Run a knife around the edge of the tin to release the flapjack. Score the surface of the flapjack into fingers or squares, but leave them in the baking tray to cool before turning them out onto a board and dividing them properly. The flapjacks will keep in an airtight container for a couple of weeks.

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