This Hairy Bikers flapjack recipe packs porridge oats with butter, golden syrup and chopped dates, then studs them with raisins, glacé cherries and pecans. And one British Classics tray makes 10 big slices at about 630 calories each by my estimate, in 45 minutes plus cooling.
Dave says flapjacks were “one of the first things I ever cooked”, which he baked as a lad in old toffee trays. And the chopped dates go into the pan with the butter and syrup, while their Anzac flapjacks stir the dates in later with the oats.
Your oven timing decides the texture, because 25 minutes gives a chewy flapjack while 30 tips it towards crunchy. So since Dave likes his sticky and soft, I’d take the tray out nearer the 25-minute mark.
Hairy Bikers Flapjack Recipe
Description
Butter, syrup and brown sugar melt with the chopped dates and a pinch of salt before 500g of oats, fruit and nuts are stirred through. Then it’s pressed hard into a lined 20 x 30cm tin, baked at 190°C and boxed airtight for up to a week.
Ingredients
For the flapjacks
Instructions
- Heat the oven: Preheat the oven to 190°C/Fan 170°C/Gas 5 and line a 20 x 30cm baking tin with non-stick baking paper.
- Melt: Put the butter, golden syrup (and maple syrup, if using), sugar and dates in a large saucepan with a pinch of salt. Then melt over a very low heat, stirring now and then, until the sugar has dissolved.
- Mix: Take the pan off the heat, add the oats, raisins, cherries and pecans and stir thoroughly until everything is well combined.
- Press: Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the prepared tin.
- Bake: Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, depending on whether you want your flapjacks chewy or crunchy.
- Cut and cool: Leave for several minutes before cutting into slices, then leave them to cool completely in the tin. After that, store in an airtight container for up to a week.
FAQs
How do you stop flapjacks falling apart?
Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the tin, then slice it after several minutes but leave it in the tin until completely cool. But their One Pot Wonders Anzac flapjacks go further, only scoring them at 10 minutes, since cutting right through before they’re cool breaks them up.
So I’d be patient, because their Anzac method notes the tray comes out soft and only firms up as it cools.
What are their Anzac flapjacks?
One Pot Wonders crosses Anzac biscuits, popular down under, with British date flapjacks, adding 100g of desiccated coconut. But it bakes lower, at 160°C, using 250g each of butter and light brown sugar, 400g of oats and 200g of dates.
And it’s 25 minutes for chewy or 5 more for slightly crisper, once the top is turning golden brown, making about 12 squares.
Are there healthier Hairy Bikers flapjacks?
People search for their healthy flapjacks, and one old blog credits them with a low-calorie version, but I couldn’t find it in my copies. So I won’t print a version I can’t trace, while this one is honestly an indulgent tray bake.
If you want a smaller slice, cutting the tray into 20 rather than 10 brings each one to about 315 calories by my estimate.
Can you swap the fruit and nuts?
The syrup is the only swap the recipe in British Classics offers, with 75g of golden syrup and 25g of maple as the alternative. But I’d expect other dried fruit or nuts to work at the same weights, though that’s my suggestion rather than theirs.
And Mums Still Know Best has Lisa’s diggers, another flapjack-style treat, with flour, coconut and bicarb, made as cookies or a tray bake.
What other Hairy Bikers tray bakes are there?
Their Manchester tart flapjack from Everyday Winners layers jam and custard over an oat base. And for a chocolate fix, their cherry pecan brownies also pair cherries with pecans, while their Mars bar rocky road needs no oven at all.
