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I am happy to say there IS a foolproof way to make Flapjacks that works every single time. In just 6 ingredients and 20 minutes in the oven, you have a chewy, sticky classic traybake treat – I’m letting you in on the secret to the ultimate recipe!
Learning how to make Flapjacks is a rite of passage and once you’ve found the right recipe, you’ll be turning to it again and again.
There are so many different ways to make them, but I am VERY happy to report that I have done the testing and experimenting on this classic snack so you don’t have to.
This is the ultimate FOOLPROOF flapjack recipe that works. Every. Single. Time. There’s a secret to it too… shhh (but it lies within the oats you use) 🤫
Why you’ll love this Simple Flapjack recipe
⭐️ Only 6 ingredients
⭐️ No faff or fancy equipment needed
⭐️ Energy-packed snack for busy kids (and grown-ups)
Which oats to use
After making this many batches of homemade flapjacks over the years, I noticed something about the oats I used. (No exaggeration – I can safely say the success of your baking lies in the type of oats you use!) Once I realised this, there was no going back for me.
💥 HERE IS THE SECRET 💥… I use half rolled oats and half jumbo oats.
Rolled oats are more likely to be used in porridge. They absorb moisture well and carry flavours. Jumbo oats tend to be bigger and crunchier, keep their shape more, and are more likely to be used for biscuits and cereal bars. Instant oats are more processed, are finer in texture and are mushier when cooked.
In summary:
🦴 You can use just rolled oats but the texture is chewy, without much crunch
🍂 You can use just jumbo oats but they will be very crunchy, a little dry, and to be honest? Not my favourite
🌟 HALF AND HALF (rolled and jumbo) are honestly the BEST combo – both crunchy and chewy – yum!
🚫 Instant oats (like Ready Brek) are a no-no for flapjack
IMAGE: See the photo below showing the different between using just rolled oats (the bottom one) and using this recipe with half rolled and half jumbo (the top one)…
Sarah’s Notes
A traditional Flapjack recipe originated in Great Britain and is made from butter, golden syrup, sugar, oats (my recipe has a touch of salt too and a chocolate topping to give it an edge).
Of course, there are a number of variations of this recipes, with additions such as peanut butter, honey or banana. But for me, nothing can top the classic Golden Syrup version.
This recipe will forever remind me of coming home from school and raiding the cake tin expectantly. Now it’s time for you to make your own memories. Hope you love it!
More favourite traybakes
- Chocolate Orange Brownies
- Mini Egg Rocky Road
- Peanut Butter Brownies
- Easy Rolo Rocky Road
- Easter Rocky Road
- Peanut Butter Bars
- Classic Rocky Road
- Classic Honeycomb
Flapjack Ingredients
- Butter – Unsalted or salted is fine. If you use salted, reduce the salt in the recipe to ½ tsp
- Golden Syrup
- Sugar – Soft light brown sugar
- Oats – I use a mixture of jumbo whole oats and rolled oats for a good consistency of both light/crumbly and dense at the same time
- Salt – You can leave this out for small children but it does bring out the flavour and add something
- Milk chocolate – Melted to drizzle (any kind). I use this kind for baking
How to make Flapjacks
1. Preheat your oven, line your baking tray and then add your butter, sugar and golden syrup in a large pan and heat gently.
2. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove from the heat and stir in the oats and salt.
3. Put your mixture into your baking tin and pat down flat with a spoon. Bake as per the recipe below until golden brown.
4. Leave to cool well before slicing and drizzling over the melted chocolate.
Substitutions
- Golden syrup – This gives the lovely sticky texture. You can replace it with honey if you prefer but it can be more unpredictable as honey is a natural product where the consistency varies. The flavour can also be quite strong.
- Brown sugar – Soft light brown sugar gives a good flavour but caster sugar will work too.
Storing
In my experience they don’t last long enough to be stored, but if your family is resisting too much temptation, you can store them in an airtight container for about 7 days.
In the freezer You can also freeze them in portions for up to a month.
FAQs
You need to leave them to cool! Make sure they’re completely cooled before cutting them into 16 squares. This will help them to keep their shape and means that you don’t need to overcook them.
No, they’re very different things! In America, a flapjack is a kind of thick pancake, whereas in the UK it’s a gooey, chewy, granola-style oat bar. Any USA readers – please tell all about your flapjacks!
For me the perfect flapjack is a chewy one, with slightly crunchy edges. If you’re a fan of more crunchy flapjack, just cook for slightly longer than the recipe says.
Sure. Just replace the butter with a dairy-free spread, and make sure you use vegan chocolate or omit it altogether.
This is almost always down to overbaking. In future, just turn your oven down by a fraction and cook them for 5 minutes less.
This is usually down to cutting them before they are completely cold. If you want neat slices, let them go totally cold before cutting. It can also be when they are slightly underbaked.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Easy Flapjacks {Foolproof Recipe!}
Ingredients
- 225 g (1 cups) Butter, See notes
- 150 g (1/2 cups) Golden Syrup, See notes
- 150 g (3/4 cups) Soft light brown sugar, See notes
- 450 g (5 1/2 cups) Oats, See notes
- 1 tsp Salt, See notes
For the topping:
- 100 g (2/3 cups) Milk chocolate, Melted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 170℃ fan/190℃/Gas Mark 5 (340F).
- Line a 20×20 cm baking tray with baking parchment.
- Melt your butter, sugar and golden syrup in a large pan over a low heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove from the heat and stir in the oats and salt.
- Give the entire mixture a really good stir so that all of the oats are coated.
- Pour the mixture into your lined baking tin and pat down with the back of a spoon.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. (The edges should be starting to brown but the middle should still be soft and wobbly.)
- When the flapjack is cold, remove it from the tin and slice your flapjacks into 16 squares with a sharp knife.
- Drizzle over the melted chocolate and allow to set.
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
This post was originally published on March 2, 2021 and updated later to make improvements.
You specify 20cm x 20cm baking tray but you don’t mention the depth. How deep is your tray?
Inspired after seeing INSIDE THE FACTORY who where making Flapjacks and the benefits of combining two different oats.
They added black treacle so amended your recipe 100g Golden syrup and 50 gr Black treacle.
Great success and lovely flapjacks, not hard like my usual bake.
Well done thank you,I will continue to use this recipe.
Hi, can you tell me why my flapjack falls apart when cooked!!!!!
My old mum, used to make this, only, care for us four kids, and a dog and a full time job resulted in it not rising enough, flapjack came out, flat, hard, we, LOVED it, and had to mis-make it again and again, re named, good, thanks mum x
My mother used to make something similar and I decided to try making it gor the first time this evening. I swapped out the corn syrup in favour of maple syrup.
I was very pleased with how it turned out – the only thing was that even after cooling, it remained a bit crumbly in the centre. I used a bit smaller pan (8” x 8”) which made the depth of it a bit more than with a slightly larger pan. I also had to add about 15 minutes to the cooking time – to reach that “crunchy edge” state. The extra depth in the pan may also have been a factor there.
But all in all, a really nice callback to my childhood in Winnipeg, MB.
Thanks
Thanks for the recipe. I made them for our choir’s carol concert. Delicious! 😋
Very nice recipe, very tasty even without the chocolate drizzle. This is my favourite go to flapjack recipe
Really delicious and easy to get perfect!! Brilliant recipe
Great!
Many thanks for the Flapjack recipe. I’ll be buying the ingredients today; considering adding Treacle, sparingly.
You were top of the search results! I see why… scrolling down I learn you are a Sunday Times Best Selling author!
Blimey! Can’t wait to taste ’em. 😋
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I like the recipe but I’m confused by the oats for the half and half. In the UK, many packs described as Jumbo Whole oats are rolled. So what would the other oat type be. There are steel cut oats, described as coarse/pinhead/Irish oats that could offer more crunchy? The jumbo rolled oats do have more of a chewy texture what have others used for the 50/50?
I use 50% rolled and 50% whole oats as I find this gives the best texture.