Soft Peanut Butter Flapjacks

Hate the dryness of traditionally homemade flapjacks, especially ones with extra protein? Me too, so here's a versatile recipe that works best when it has something moist like small apple chunks, strawberry jam/jelly layer, or my favorite, a layer of wild blackberries in the middle. (Make sure to grab them when september comes around if you're in the UK).

This recipe makes between 12 - 24 Flapjack Squares, you can equally divide them at the end when slightly warm. You will be able to reshape them at this stage, so don't worry too much if sections slightly crumble.

Remember to pre-heat your oven to 180 Degrees Celsius, as these flapjacks will need 20 minutes on the middle shelf to cook. Let cool for five minutes once removed from the oven before transferring to a cooling rack.

Here are the macros (when divided into 12 servings):

370Kcals, 12g Protein, 18g Fats (4g Saturates), 39g Carbs (18g Sugars), 4g Fibre, 0.5g Salt

This whole batch only costs £5.30 to make, that's 44p per serving! Want to make them cheaper? You can substitute the Alpro Single Soya Cream for Coconut Cream, saving you 46p!

First, melt together the wet ingredients using the stove. Make sure to caramelise the butter first, then melt in the sugar off heat to quickly cool the butter before adding in the rest of the wet ingredients listed below:

70g Golden Syrup
100g Dark Sugar
50g Granulated Sugar
30g Sugar Free maple Syrup
60g Peanut Butter
200g Baking Block
1 TBSP Salted Caramel Flavouring
160g Alpro Single Soya Cream / Coconut Cream

Now, in a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients:

100g Protein Powder
380g Oats
1 TSP Cinnamon
1 TSP Salt (Unless Salted Butter Was Used)

Optional Middle layer
Around 100g - 150g Blackberries / Jam / Apple Slices / Cinnamon, Brown Sugar, Butter mix

Optional Topping (Add before baking for a glazed and caramelised look):
25g Peanut Butter
25g Golden Syrup

Optional: Sprinkle Cinnamon, Dark Sugar and a pinch of Salt

Leave too cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. once completely cooled, slice into 24 squares. These are best cold, so make sure to store them in the fridge for the best results.

I like to wrap 2 at a time into clingfilm to keep them fresh, and for easy storage in a freezer. Since I'm a one man band, theres no way I'm making my through this entire batch before they start loosing their freshness, but great news for me and you: they freeze really well!

I highly recommend separating your batter into two, pressing down the first half and adding a layer of blackberries. Then, add the second half of the flapjack batter over the top of the blackberries and press down.

(I'd say I usually add around 100-150g of wild blackberries. I hand picked and froze the blackberries in the picture above during August. Something I couldn't recommend doing enough. So make sure to get out next year between July and August to grab your own, after all, us British people do love a good bargain!)

substitutions:

Soft baking margarine can work in place of block butter, but there will be a slight difference in how it sets once cooled, and the flavour will differ slightly.

No sugar free maple syrup? You can increase the coconut milk / soya cream content to 200g.

Not a fan of blackberries, honestly you could put anything in-between this layer. I've had great success with 160g of Strawberry jam as the middle layer, but it doesn't have to be strawberry jam, it could be anything. On that note, be careful not to add any ingredients that will soak up excess moisture such as sultanas. You will end up with a rather dry and crumbly flapjack!

If you are out of dark sugar but have molasses in your store cupboard, just combine 13g of molasses to 87g of white sugar.