Thursday 23 August 2012

The Perfect Flapjack

You might remember that at the end of last month I set myself quest to find the perfect flapjack. I was looking for the right combination of taste and texture. I had started with a Nigella Lawson recipe from "How to be a  Domestic Goddess" to which I had added chocolate chips, which I found too dry and crumbly. The family however demolished them in record time and they were given a thumbs up for flavour.
 
 
But still not quite perfect... and so my quest continued... much to the detriment of my waistline, I might add. The second recipe I tried was from Jane Brocket's book "The Gentle Art of Domesticity". There is an awful lot I like about this book... but unfortuantely it turns out that the flapjacks are not one of them. They were too sweet for our taste and far too hard and chewy. So chewy we were all in fear of our teeth.

 
So, onto version number three from a recipe given by Joanna, which you can find in the comments section of the original post. I suppose for the purist they might not be considered a flapjack with honey rather than golden syrup and the addition of eggs. But these were so good I am willing to overlook such deviations from tradition.

 
Moist, sofly chewy and packed full of wonderful fruit... I think I found my perfect flapjack.

 
But Elizabethanne had also left a recipe in the comment box so it seemed only fair to try these too. These were tasty and we liked the addition of coconut but they were a little to hard and brittle for our liking.


 
Although that was very likely my fault as I was on the phone to my Mum when they were in the oven and may have over cooked them a little!

 
But the winner was definitely Jo's fruity flapjacks. So good, I made another batch this week, this time with golden syrup instead of honey... just as tasty! Already a family favourite.

14 comments:

  1. Research can be hard work ;-)

    xx

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  2. Yay! I knew you'd love 'em, they are just so yummy :)

    I bet you have some very happy taste testers with all this devoted flapjack research?!

    x

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  3. As far as research goes this has to be one of the better ones! :)
    I will have to give this recipe a go, as you know I still hadn't found the perfect flapjack either, so hope fully this is it for me too!
    Vivienne x

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  4. I should avoid posts of this kind as I need to lose weight before it gets out of hand. I have been a comfort eater for too long and need to do something about it. All those flapjacks look delicious and very tempting, even through closed eyelids!!

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  5. How interesting -- in the US flapjacks are usually breakfast food, non-sweet pancakes made from plain batter in a frying pan. We would probably call your delicious stuff "bar cookies."

    I know there are all sorts of British/US language disconnects, but I had never come upon this one before.

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  6. Have you tried my recipe? There is a link in my sidebar. I have given this to so many people who have had flapjacks at our house, and then pronounced them the best flapjacks ever - but they do have syrup rather than honey. I always think they are relatively healthy cakes - but I think that I am probably deluding myself ...

    Pomona x

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  7. Hi Gina, Yes the flapjack/oat bar slice should not be hard. It is a soft slice. Glad you tried it & did not mind it. I'm going to get the ingredients minus the dorset muesli. Will have to find an Aussie alternative :-) And have a go at Joanna's flapjacks. They sound so good.
    Hugs Elizabeth xx

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  8. we call them crunchies. My mother used to make flapjacks (the griddle/Scotch pancakes)

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  9. oh dear Gina...they look so good but I daren't even think about making them. I don't know how to stop at one! I've enjoyed looking back at the posts I've missed and share your thoughts about 'stuff' under beds and what to do with it all! I have used quite a few of the samples from City and Guilds as a basis for book covers and backgrounds for new work. My biggest problem is hanging on to all the old fabric I've bought over the years which I'll never use but can't let go!!

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  10. Oh my word!! How many did you have to eat to be sure?? Now that's dedication to the cause of ultimate recipe finding!

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  11. I think they all look wonderful, but in Oz, flapjacks are a large thick pancake, like the American version. I shall have to try out your slice/bar versions though. Cheers

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  12. I'm going to have to try some of those recipes! Will my own personal ultimate flapjack quest finally be over?!

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  13. Flapjacks are my ultimate comfort food and they definitely have to be chewy rather than crunchy. This looks like dangerous research!

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