Traditional flapjacks, made with butter, sugar and golden syrup or honey are one of my favourite cheap and easy snacks to bake. Being full of oats and – the way I bake them – nuts and seeds, they always feel a little healthier than cakes and biscuits. But realistically, a few oats does not a healthy treat make. So how to make them healthier? Well, this recipe gets rid of the sugary things altogether, replacing them with brown rice syrup, and instead of regular butter you’ll find nut butter and coconut manna (whole coconut in a jar, sometimes called coconut butter).
I've made ‘healthy’ versions of flapjack before, usually by substituting some or all of the butter with apple sauce, but obviously these were still high in sugar. Plus, you end up with something quite tasty, but far more spongy in texture – not really anything like a traditional flapjack. This recipe, however, is the closest I've found to that traditional chewy, crumbly flapjack texture. The peanut butter is very subtle, with the coconut coming through more strongly (of course, you could experiment with adding more or less coconut as you prefer). Plus they're nice and sweet. They’re also surprising buttery in taste – I guess from the coconut manna and nut butter.
I've made ‘healthy’ versions of flapjack before, usually by substituting some or all of the butter with apple sauce, but obviously these were still high in sugar. Plus, you end up with something quite tasty, but far more spongy in texture – not really anything like a traditional flapjack. This recipe, however, is the closest I've found to that traditional chewy, crumbly flapjack texture. The peanut butter is very subtle, with the coconut coming through more strongly (of course, you could experiment with adding more or less coconut as you prefer). Plus they're nice and sweet. They’re also surprising buttery in taste – I guess from the coconut manna and nut butter.
Definitely my favourite healthier flapjack recipe to date –
and sugar-free, dairy-free and vegan to boot!
>> This recipe make a small batch of six 'fingers' of flapjack (as pictured). To bake these I used a lined 2lb loaf tin. For a bigger tray, and more flapjacks, just double the recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp fine desiccated coconut
1 tbsp peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1 tbsp coconut manna/butter
¼ cup brown rice syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Bake it!
- Pre-heat oven to 200oC/180oC fan. Line your tin of choice.
- Mix the rolled oats and coconut in a large bowl.
- Melt the peanut butter, coconut manna and brown rice syrup gently in a pan, stirring together. When liquid, add in the vanilla and pour over the oat mix. Stir well to combine.
- Pour into the tray and use the back of a spoon to press down into an even layer. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until just turning golden brown.
- Remove from oven and cut in the tray while still warm, before moving to a wire cooling rack.
