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Hi Bold Bakers!
It’s safe to say that I have an extra soft spot for Irish recipes, for obvious reasons. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day coming up I thought I would bake something for you with my Irish friend, Donal Skehan. Donal Skehan is a food writer, food photographer and television presenter whose love for food is evident in his recipes and everything he does. Donal shared his recipe for Irish Oat Flapjacks with me and I’m sharing it with you.
Now, flapjacks in Ireland are very different to American flapjacks. In Ireland they are oat bars and in America they are pancakes. There are certain tastes that instantly transport you back to being a kid and this is one of them. My mum used to make them for all the kids. In Ireland it’s an unspoken rule that your Mammies’ cooking is the best so needless to say my mum’s flapjacks were awesome.
To paint a picture for you, flapjacks taste like oats that have been baked in a caramel. They are crunchy and a little chewy at the same time. Feel free to dress them up with some dried fruit, nuts and seeds as you wish or even some drizzled chocolate on top.
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Watch The Recipe Video!
Ingredients
- 300 g (3.5 cups) oats
- 50 g (1/2 cup) desiccated coconut
- 175 g (3/4 cup, 1 1/2 sticks)) butter, plus extra for greasing
- 125 g (5/8 cup) light muscovado (brown) sugar
- 6 tbsp maple syrup
- 200 g (1 1/4 cup) dark chocolate, melted
- *It is best to measure this in grams as Donal has written the recipe. Conversions are always a little off , though a good approximation.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease a shallow 18cm square baking tin and line with parchment paper.
- Put the rolled oats in a large bowl with the desiccated coconut and sunflower seeds, around 1-2 tbsps.
- Melt the butter, sugar and maple syrup in a pan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then pour it into the rolled oat mixture. Mix well, then pour the mixture into the prepared tin and press down well.
- Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack. With a sharp knife loosen round the edges.
- When firm and cool, pour over the dark chocolate and spread evenly over the surface. Allow to set in a cool place before removing from the tin and slicing into rectangles.
Hi Emma,
I want to try this recipe, but i dont have maple syrup. can i use honey instead?
how much it will needed?
Hi Gemma… I loved this recipe! They turned out so good… But I did find it a little too sweet… I was wondering, by how much can I reduce the sugar quantity by? How much less can I put that it won’t affect the integrity of the flapjacks?? Or maybe some if I reduce the sugar, can I make it up with honey (so a conversion if possible)??
Hi, I’m just wondering is it 3tbsp of maple syrup as mentioned in the video or is it 6tbsp as mentioned in the recipe? Thanks so much
Is this using old fashioned oats, or quick oats? I made them with old fashioned oats and they were very crumbly and would not hold together. They were very tasty though. I didn’t melt chocolate, but put some chocolate chips on the top of the warm bars and spread that after they melted. Great taste.
Hi Gemma, I really don’t like coconut, can you make these without it?
great easy recipe that took a short amount of time to put together! I used honey instead of maple syrup and it turned out great. I found I had a lot of chocolate sauce leftover, so next time I might just use half the amount. thanks! also 180C = 350F =)
So I followed to a t and they didn’t stick together what did I do wrong?
Ah this recipe reminded me of my Nan. She would make this for all of us grandkids as a special treat. She would use golden syrup and then drizzle a few lines of dark treacle for decoration. They never lasted long when all 21 of us smelled them coming out of the oven.
Hi chef, can I use corn syrup instead maple syrup? Thank you
Can I use something other than sunflower seeds??