How to make Maple Syrup Flapjacks

Maple Syrup Flapjacks (with pecans and dried cranberries) make a really yummy oat bar. Looking for an easy flapjack recipe? This is it, this is the one you want. They’re sweet, oaty loaded with crunchy pecan nuts, maple syrup and dried cranberries. They bake in twenty-five to thirty minutes and slice up to make 9 generously sized bars. The combination of maple syrup and pecan nuts is just sublime.

I’ve been tinkering with this oaty flapjack recipe, for a while now and this is definitely our favourite version. They’re full of flavour, moist, and hold together well as bars. Just imagine how exciting it will be to find one of these flapjacks in your lunchbox.

Ingredients

This recipe uses fairly everyday ingredients, perhaps the dried cranberries and pecans will need to be added to the shopping list but otherwise, I bet you’ll have everything else to hand.

For the exact amounts needed please check the recipe below. This is just an overview.

Oats – the best oats to use for these flapjacks are the smaller-sized porridge oat grains. This will ensure that everything will stick together successfully. The larger sized oats, such as jumbo oats are too big and tend to result in a very crumbly oat bar.

Maple Syrup, light brown sugar – these are the sweeteners. The light brown sugar adds a little flavour too. Don’t be tempted to reduce the amount of sugar and replace it with maple syrup as this results in a very soggy flapjack.

butter – the fat that holds everything together. Don’t be tempted to use baking margarine instead of butter as this again would result in a very soft flapjack that wouldn’t hold together well in your hands.

dried cranberries and pecan nuts – add some lovely nutty flavour with the pecans which don’t need to be toasted before using them. Also, add a little tartness with the dried cranberries which contrasts beautifully with all the sweetness going on in this recipe. The combination of the cranberries and the pecans adds a lot of interesting texture.

Features of this Maple Syrup Flapjacks Recipe

This is a British-style flapjack recipe, made with oats and baked to perfection. However, unlike a traditional British flapjack recipe, this one does not contain golden syrup.

It’s golden syrup that makes flapjacks chewy, using maple syrup instead makes a crunchier flapjack with the unmistakable flavour of the maple syrup. Really wonderful.

In other parts of the world, flapjacks are known as granola bars.

Flavour – These deliciously soft and chewy oat bars are flavoured with maple syrup, cinnamon and pecans. As the flapjacks are baked the pecans take on that wonderful, toasted nut flavour. The light brown sugar adds a little caramel-type flavour in the background.

Note: the pecan nuts aren’t roasted before being used in the recipe. I’ve tried roasting them and not roasting them before adding them to the oat mixture and I don’t find that it makes any difference to the finished flavour. So, now I don’t roast the nuts first, which makes this recipe less fussy and simpler.

Texture – Maple Syrup Flapjacks are soft, slightly chewy and moist. The recipe uses rolled oats otherwise known as porridge oats, which hold together really well after baking and cooling. Slice it up into 9 generously sized slices and you have a bar that you can pick up and eat, without it falling apart. The nuts contribute texture and so do the dried cranberries.

Difficulty – These chewy maple syrup flapjacks are not difficult to make. In fact, flapjacks are possibly one of the easiest things that you can bake. If you can measure out the ingredients, and have the ability to melt the butter, syrup, and sugar together, then you can make this recipe. You do not require any special skills to be successful in making these so it is definitely a recipe suitable for novice bakers.

How to make Flapjacks

Again everything that you need to know is in the recipe below, this is just a walk overview of the really easy process.

Gather your ingredients together and let’s begin.

Measure all of the dry ingredients into a roomy mixing bowl. This includes oats, cinnamon, roughly chopped pecans and dried cranberries.

Melt the butter, sugar and maple syrup together in a small saucepan or in a microwave. They only need to be melted. Stir briefly and then add to the mixture. Stir until everything is well combined.

Tip the mixture into your prepared tin (You need to be able to get the flapjacks out of the tin once baked.) and level it in the pan using the back of a spoon or something similar. See our notes on tin sizes.

Bake at the correct oven temperature for 20 minutes and then check that they’re not getting too browned. You want a nice light golden colour. Expect them to take approximately 25 minutes but it is good to check.

Remove from the oven when they’re golden brown which should take approximately 25 minutes.

Allow them to cool before removing them from the pan. Leave them at least 15 minutes longer if possible. Once removed from the pan, slice into 9 portions and store safely for later.

Tips for Success

This is a really simple recipe. There a just a few straightforward steps to follow.

• Read the recipe through so that you are familiar with the steps involved. It is easy and does not require any special equipment or any special skills.
• Preheat the oven and only put the flapjack mixture into the oven when it has reached the correct temperature. Then set an oven timer so that you know when to take them out and check if they’re done.
• Measure all ingredients accurately. I do give measurements in cups but if accuracy is important in a recipe then digital scales are the way to go. A few minor discrepancies when using cup measures can really add up so treat yourself to a set of reliable scales.
• Ingredients – the main ingredient in this recipe are the oats. I use rolled oats as these give the best texture to the oat bars and they hold together in the best way. Larger chunky oats tend not to stick together as well, they taste good but the bars are quite crumbly making them more difficult to eat.
• Check the flapjacks a few minutes before the end of the cooking time to ensure that they’re not browning too quickly.

A note on tin sizes

• I use a 20cm by 20cm square tin to bake these flapjacks in but you can also use a 18cm by 23cm rectangular tin if you prefer. If you change the tin dimensions by a lot then the depth of the flapjacks will change. This means that you’ll need to be mindful of the baking times.
• Line your tin with baking parchment or use a loose-bottomed tin. Why? Well, at the end of baking the flapjacks and allowing them to cool for around 5 minutes, you need to be able to get them out of the pan. A loose-bottomed pan will help with that. If you don’t have one of those and I don’t, line the tin with baking parchment. Be a little bit generous with the height of the parchment around the tin so it provides something that you can take hold of and simply lift the flapjacks out of the tin. Easy and safer.

(I tried a loose-bottomed tin once and ended up dropping the contents on the floor as I took it out of the oven. They’re not for me!)

Variations to this Maple Pecan flapjack recipe

Here are a few variations to the main recipe to try.

• use different dried fruits – I use dried cranberries because we love the tanginess they add. Other dried fruits that work well are; chopped dried dates, sultanas, raisins and dried fruit mixes that include dried orange and lemon peel.
• use different nuts – walnuts are a brilliant choice. Chopped or flaked almonds also work really well.
• add chocolate chips instead of dried fruit. Maple syrup goes really well with dark chocolate chips and a little orange zest.
• drizzle a little white chocolate over the top for a fancy look.

Storage

So, how best to store the flapjacks… an airtight tin will do the job. If stored that way they should stay fresh for up to seven days.

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Other recipes that you may like …

• No-bake Granola Bar
• Oatmeal Granola Bar (with dried fruit and seeds)
• Granola Recipe (with sticky dates)
• Easy Healthy Breakfast Recipes Using Oats

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