Chocolate Flapjacks

It has been a very quiet day (so far) and I am loving it. I have sat with the sun streaming through the windows, happily crocheting and meandering with my thoughts. No earth shattering conclusions have been reached. Little in domestic duty accomplished - other than laundry and the dishes. Am I bothered by this total indolence? Not one tiny iota! Everyone needs down days and this one is mine.

Would a down day be complete without chocolate though. Mine wouldn't. So I have chocolate flapjacks. I shall give you the recipe and a photo, but please don't be put off by the unimpressive appearance of this treat. It tastes so much better than it looks and it is very, very moreish. One is seldom enough. But they are nice to share because I have never met a person who didn't like my chocolate flapjacks.

Now, when I say 'my chocolate flapjacks' I am telling a great big fib. The only ones that are mine are the ones on the kitchen counter as I write this. The recipe comes straight from the Green & Black's Chocolate Recipes cook book. This one recipe alone makes the purchase of the book worth while. The book falls open at the correct page without fail. But the book is stuffed with lovely, chocolaty recipes that make me drool in an entirely undignified way. So I hope Green & Black's don't mind me passing on the recipe if I tell everyone how good their book is. (Their chocolate is pretty amazing too, by the way. I am not a white chocolate fan but if you ever come across a bar of their white chocolate and want a sublime experience - buy it and eat it well away from anyone else so you don't have to share.)

Here is what the flapjacks look like and the recipe follows -

350g butter
3 tbsp golden syrup*
175g soft brown sugar*
175g muscovado sugar*
175g good quality oats*
275g rolled oats*
6 tbsp cocoa powder
2 heaped tbsp dessicated coconut (optional)*

Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 2

Melt butter, syrup and sugars together but do not bubble. Stir in remaining ingredients (I stir the cocoa into the oats before adding them to the butter/sugar mixture as it helps break up any lumps and seems to help blend it all together more easily). Use the back of a fork to press the mixture into a lined 9' (21cm) square baking pan. Cook for 18-20 minutes.* When still slightly warm cut into squares in the pan but do not remove until completely cooled or they will crumble apart.

*My own personal comments -

(a) If you don't have golden syrup use corn syrup.
(b) I use natural muscavado sugars but if not available just use light and dark brown sugars.
(c) I use every day porridge oats like Quaker Oats or Scott,s Oats plus a premium jumbo oats.
(d) I like the coconut!
(e) It tells you not to bake for longer than stated or you will get a toffee-like chewiness to your flapjacks BUT I really like that consistency and always leave them in for a bit longer on purpose. I like the mixture to be bubbling around the edge of the pan and go against the advice in the book. Either way, they are really, really good.

At the end of the day flapjacks are wonderful because, despite being full of butter, sugar and syrup, you can fool yourself into them not being all bad because of all the oats. Makes me feel much more virtuous when I eat something like this than a chocolate bar straight from the wrapper.

I hope you try them and like them as much as I do.

Susan