Can you freeze flapjack?
Having tried it out, I can tell you, yes you can freeze flapjack. Wrap them in cling film and then pop them in a sandwich bag and they will be great when you defrost them. How long do flapjacks last in an airtight container? For two weeks – assuming you can keep hungry hands off them for that long.
How to make flapjack chewy or crunchy?
Rose Elliot says jumbo oats will give a chewy whilst rolled oats give a crunchy texture. With the recipe below I tried both, she is spot on. I prefer chewy so I used jumbo, or old fashioned oats. Andrew Hardwick suggests cooking flapjack at 175C to make them chewy and 190C if you prefer crunchy ones, I have yet to try this.
Here is an interesting article if you want to know more about oats themselves.
Now to the recipe I’m loving. These pistachio, almond and cranberry flapjack, or breakfast bars, are filled to the brim with nuts, seeds and fruit. Creamy, chunky whole almonds, bright green pistachios, buttery sunflower seeds and tart yet sweet ruby cranberries. All these goodies are combined with oats and then with a buttery, sweet, syrupy goo before being baked to make these moreish flapjacks.
I have decided that this combination of nuts, seeds and fruit means these flapjack are seriously healthy. The nuts are packed with protein, sunflower seeds are a fantastic source of vitamin E while cranberries are full of antioxidants. The weight of nuts, seeds and fruit is greater than the butter, sugar and syrup so they must be healthy, right?!
Something these pistachio, almond and cranberry flapjacks are not anything like are those stodgy flapjacks you buy it their little plastic casings. Forget those crumbly disappointing tasteless bars. Treat yourself and make these instead. They take just 15 minutes to prep and 20 minutes later from the oven they emerge in all their glory.
The only similarity with the plastic cased cousins is their ultimate transportability and snackability. They are perfect to eat at your desk, on a picnic or walk, or just in the kitchen with a cup of coffee.
PrintPistachio, almond and cranberry flapjack
To make these flapjacks vegan, substitute the butter for a vegan margarine.
- Prep Time: 12 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 15 flapjacks
Ingredients
- 125g/4½oz salted butter
- 125g/4½oz muscovado/dark soft brown sugar
- 1 tbsp golden syrup
- 175g/6oz jumbo oats
- 100g whole almonds, roughly chopped
- 100g pistachios
- 100g dried cranberries
- 50g sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C/170C/375F/Gas mark 5. Line a 20cm/8” x 30cm/12” baking tray with baking paper.
- In a saucepan melt the sugar, butter and golden syrup. Ensure all the sugar crystals have melted. Then add the oats, nuts, cranberries and seeds and stir until everything is coated with the syrup.
- Spread the mixture onto the baking tray and press down with the back of a spoon. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
- Let them cool for 5 minutes and then mark into squares but leave in the tin. When they are still just warm remove to a cooling rack.
Notes
Alternatives
Pecans could be used instead of pistachios or almonds
Chopped apricots could replace the cranberries.
Carbohydrate information
Dietary fiber has already been removed from the Total Carbohydrate value above.
On Nutrition Facts food labels, the grams of dietary fiber are already included in the total carbohydrate count. But because fiber is a type of carbohydrate that your body can’t digest, it does not affect your blood sugar levels. You should subtract the grams of fiber from the total carbohydrate. https://dtc.ucsf.edu/living-with-diabetes/diet-and-nutrition/understanding-carbohydrates/counting-carbohydrates/learning-to-read-labels/understanding-fiber/
Want to tweak this recipe? The carbohydrate information below enables you to makes changes and then calculate the new carb value of a portion.
- 125g/4½oz salted butter – 0.7g carbohydrate
- 125g/4½oz muscovado/dark soft brown sugar – 118g carbohydrate
- 1 tbsp golden syrup – 12g carbohydrate
- 175g/6oz jumbo oats – 106g carbohydrate
- 100g whole almonds, roughly chopped – 13g carbohydrate
- 100g pistachios – 12g carbohydrate
- 100g dried cranberries – 77g carbohydrate
- 50g sunflower seeds – 8g carbohydrate
Total carbohydrate = 347g
Left over ingredients? Have a look at these other recipes:
Pistachios
Apricot, raspberry, and pistachio cake
Cranberries
Maple, cranberry and pecan muesli bars
We’ve made these a couple of times. They’ree ace. Much more interesting than normal flapjacks and, it’s nice that almost 50% of it is nuts/seeds/fruit.
★★★★★
Way more interesting than normal flapjack. I’m wondering now if it would be possible to up the percentage of nuts/seeds/fruit even more, will have to give that a go sometime.