A flapjack is a kind of oat bar that is made of rolled oats, brown sugar, butter and golden syrup. Flapjack is prepared by baking the ingredients together. It is popular in England, Ireland and Australia. The texture of flapjacks ranges from dry to crisp.

Flapjacks can be prepared at home by tray baking the ingredients (rolled oats, butter, brown sugar and golden syrup or honey) and then cutting them into rectangular pieces. They are also available in ready-made form commercially. The commercial variants of flapjack come in different flavors and types, in packaged form. Flapjacks may be chocolate coated or contain nuts, dry fruits, yoghurt or toffee pieces. They are available in small slices or as entire trays of flapjack.

Rolled oats, a principal ingredient in flapjacks, are oat groats (oats form which the inedible hard husk has been removed) which have been rolled by means of heavy rollers and then steamed and toasted to give the final, flaky form.   Oats are a species of grains, or seeds of a plant, that are used for human as well as animal food. It is used for making porridge, cookies, poultry and animal fodder, etc.  Oat straw is used to make animal bedding as well as animal fodder.

The word flapjack first finds its mention at a time in the beginning of the 17th century. At that time it was, however, used to denote a type of pancake. Its mention can also be found in Shakespeare’s literature as a popular dessert eaten in those days.  It was in the 20th century that the term flapjack began to be used for a dish made of oats. Flapjack is still referred to as the traditional version in North America.

Flapjack Recipe Overview

Here is a standard flapjack recipe, variations to which can be made according to taste.

Ingredients: Main ingredients are porridge oats, golden syrup, butter and brown sugar

Method of Preparation: The butter or margarine is taken in a saucepan along with brown sugar and golden syrup, and heated on low flame. Some recipes also suggest addition of a pinch of salt at this stage. The ingredients are mixed together by stirring, till the fat and sugar have melted into a paste. The porridge oats are now added to this, stirring all along, till a smooth consistency is achieved. The contents are pressed into a baking tray which has been well greased in advance. The tray is placed in the center of an oven and baked at moderate heat until the contents have turned golden brown throughout.  The tray is then removed from the oven and rectangular shaped cuts are made in the flapjack. The flapjack pieces are allowed to cool and set, and then removed.

For chocolate flapjack recipe, chocolate pieces can be mixed in the above ingredients just before adding the ingredients into the baking tray. Nuts and raisins can be added to the mixture to make other varieties of flapjacks. In short, a flapjack recipe is easy to prepare and experiment with.

Serving Flapjack

Flapjack is eaten as a snack, often as an alternative to biscuits and cookies.  It is a good any-time-food for providing instant energy.

Health Benefits of Flapjack

Traditional flapjack recipe was high in fat content, but modern flapjacks contain fewer calories, and have a range of health benefits which are as follows-

Oats, one of the main ingredients of flapjack, is considered a health food. They contain both soluble and insoluble fiber. The insoluble fiber has cancer fighting properties, as it reduces the percentage of toxins in the body. The soluble fiber contained in oats is known to reduce the undesired LDL cholesterol, while not affecting the HDL cholesterol, which is considered good for health.  Oats are good for the heart. They are also rich in vitamin E, selenium, zinc, iron, manganese, magnesium and other nutrients. They are also a good source of protein.

Sugar and fat content of flapjacks is a good source of instant energy. The health benefits of brown sugar, however are debatable. This is because although brown sugar contains molasses which are known to contain iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium, the minerals are present in negligibly small quantities in brown sugar. The only main difference between brown sugar and white sugar is in the taste.

Flapjack Trivia

While traditional flapjack recipe is laden with fat, there are modern versions of the flapjack recipe that contain less calories and fall under the ‘diet snack’ category.

In Australia it is called ‘muesli bar’ or simply ‘slice’. It is called Hudson Bay Bread in North America. The term ‘flapjack’ also refers to a form of pancake in countries like US and Canada.