Biscoff flapjack looks just like classic flapjack. It’s golden and alluring but, with the inclusion of cookie butter in the mix the flavour is quite a change from the classic. These Biscoff oat bars are quick and simple to make but so delicious they won’t last long.
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If you are a big fan of Biscoff cookies and Biscoff spread then you are going to love today’s recipe. I made Biscoff flapjack and it’s amazing.
Seriously, there is everything to love about these crisp and chewy bars that are flavoured with Biscoff cookie butter.
This cosy, simple and satisfying bake is humble in appearance but delivers one heck of a delicious, sweet & buttery treat. No adornments are necessary here.
There’s a craze in my house for anything Biscoff right now, so along with this Biscoff flapjack I’ve also come up with a Biscoff cheesecake, a Biscoff cake, Biscoff Millionaire’s shortbread and Biscoff rocky road They are all pretty amazing recipes and have caused my family sighs of joy.
What is flapjack?
Flapjack (aka oat bars) is one of the easiest classic bakes around. It is a bake that is seemingly loved by everybody and it really doesn’t care what the season is.
Flapjack is a year round delight, just as easy to succumb to on a summertime picnic or hike as it is when huddled up with a warm cup of tea and a fluffy blanket on a chilly day.
Traditional flapjack contains very few ingredients:
- Butter – baking margarine will not do here. Use proper butter for a full and rich flavour
- Sugar – demerara gives a caramelised flavour with a hint of crunch
- Golden syrup – lusciously thick, gorgeously golden and brazenly sweet, no other syrup is quite the same
- Oats – the core ingredients that binds all of the other goodies together
Some recipes call for honey or maple syrup in place of golden syrup. I have always had far better results with golden syrup. It is an important element of the taste of classic flapjack and its impressively sticky thickness is hard to beat.
Yes, golden syrup is refined sugar whereas honey and maple syrup are unrefined sugars. But I don’t like to pretend that flapjacks are in anyway healthy just because they contain oats. They contain both butter and sugar in large volumes, so any trade-off between refined and unrefined sugar syrup is really not a big one.
Ingredients
My recipe for Biscoff flapjack contains all four of the above ingredients plus just two more – a little flour and Biscoff spread, or cookie butter, as it is alternatively known.
But making Biscoff flapjack is not as simple as taking a classic flapjack recipe and mixing in a few spoonfuls of the cookie butter.
Biscoff spread is both loose and sweet, so it alters the amount of butter and sugar required to achieve a bake that holds together well and delivers the right level of sweetness.
It took four attempts to get this balance right – I’m sure you’ll appreciate my efforts when you taste this Biscoff flapjack. And I’m sure you will relish the buttery notes, the vaguely syrupy sweetness and the hints of cookie butter (happy sigh).
Step by step instructions
- Begin by preheating the oven to 160C/ 310/ GM 2 ½ and line a 7x 7 inch baking tin with butter and parchment
- Next measure the butter, sugar, Biscoff spread and syrup into a medium saucepan
- Cook over a moderate heat, stirring frequently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved
- Use a small balloon whisk to beat the ingredients in the pan until they blend together
- Take off the heat, tip in the oats and flour and mix well
- Spoon into the prepared tin, pushing it into the corners and edges. Press the mixture down firmly with the back of a metal spoon
- Bake for around 30 minutes until the edges are golden, then remove from the oven
- Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then use a sharp knife to mark the flapjack into 9 bars then let cool completely in the tin
- Once cool, cut into the marked portions and remove from the tin
Expert tips
Confession: Despite flapjack having a reputation for being one of the easiest bakes around, I used to really struggle with it.
Over time, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks for flapjack baking and I’d like to share them with you to ensure that you make the best Biscoff flapjack you are able to:
- Always use regular rolled oats (porridge) rather than jumbo oats . Jumbo oats increase the chance that the flapjack will crumble as larger flakes are harder to compress in the tin than regular ones
- Never use instant oats – these oats produce a mushy texture when cooked which is not ideal in this recipe
- Whisk the melted ingredients together before mixing in the oats. Once the ingredients in the pan have melted and dissolved they do not automatically mix into each other – the melted butter will likely sit on top of the melted sugars. Use a small handheld balloon whisk to bind the ingredients together before mixing in the oats. This way the ingredients blend with the oats in a more uniform manner and result in a better bake
- Pick a baking tin of appropriate size to ensure the mixture is not too thick or too thin. My Biscoff flapjack recipe is suitable for a 7×7-inch baking tin, and when cooked at the temperature specified for 30 minutes will produce hearty squares of flapjack around 2cm deep that are crisp around the edges with a chewier centre. Spreading too thin or too thick in alternative tins will affect the texture and cooking time
- Bake for an extra 5 minutes if you prefer rock-hard flapjack. Alternatively, if you like soft and chewy, bake for 5 minutes less
- Don’t raise the oven temperature to cook the flapjack quickly. A slow even bake is best to avoid a soggy middle
- Keep an eye on the flapjack as it bakes. Ten minutes before the recommended cooking time is up, check to ensure your flapjack is not cooking too quickly. And rotate the tin if your oven is browning one side more than the other. Take out of the oven when the flapjack is golden at the edges
- Don’t over-bake it accidentally. When golden around the edges the centre of the tin will likely look quite loose. This is normal. As the flapjack cools in the tin it will firm up
- Firmly score the portions when hot but cut fully when cold – this is the best way to avoid the flapjack breaking up into irregularly shaped pieces and crumbling as it is cut
Frequently asked questions
This flapjack will keep for up to 5 days if stored in an airtight container at room temperature. For optimum freshness, wrap in foil before putting into the container.
Technically, flapjack can also be frozen. However, since it stores so well for a good 5 days at room temperature, it should rarely be necessary to do so.
Flapjack is also one of those recipes that can be easily scaled up or down to suit your requirements. If you have a suitable tin for making a half batch of the recipe in hand I would always recommend making the smaller batch over freezing part of a larger one.
More Flapjack recipes to try:
- Toffee apple flapjack – with a delicious and sticky toffee apple centre
- Brown sugar flapjack – adorned with a drizzle of dark chocolate and all the better for it
- Peanut butter flapjack – with a jammy centre for that PB&J experience
- Chocolate flapjack – charmingly laden with warming spices too
📖 Recipe
Biscoff Flapjack
Ingredients
- 180 g Butter
- 120 g Demerara sugar
- 150 g Biscoff spread (smooth or crunchy work fine)
- 150 g Golden syrup (corn syrup)
- 300 g Rolled oats (small not jumbo) Use only small oats. These absorb the liquid ingredients listed perfectly. Jumbo oats do not.
- 60 g Plain flour all-purpose
Instructions
- Begin by preheating the oven to 160C/ 310/ GM 2 ½ and lightly grease a 7x 7 inch baking tin with butter, then line with baking parchment. Do not grease the baking parchment.
- Next measure the butter, sugar, Biscoff spread and syrup into a medium saucepan.
- Cook over a moderate heat, stirring frequently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
- Use a small balloon whisk to beat the ingredients in the pan until they blend together.
- Take off the heat, tip in the oats and flour then mix well.
- Spoon into the prepared tin, pushing it into the corners and edges. Press the mixture down firmly with the back of a metal spoon.
- Bake for around 30 minutes until the edges are golden, then remove from the oven.
- Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then use a sharp knife to mark the flapjack into 9 bars then let cool completely in the tin.
- Once cool, pull the flapjack out of the tin, lay it on a sheet of kitchen towel and cut it into portions.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST FLAPJACK
- Always use regular rolled oats (porridge) rather than jumbo oats . Jumbo oats increase the chance that the flapjack will crumble as larger flakes are harder to compress in the tin than regular ones
- Never use instant oats – these oats produce a mushy texture when cooked which is not ideal in this recipe
- Pick a baking tin of appropriate size to ensure the mixture is not too thick or too thin. My Biscoff flapjack recipe is suitable for a 7×7-inch baking tin, and when cooked at the temperature specified for 30 minutes will produce hearty squares of flapjack around 2cm deep that are crisp around the edges with a chewier centre. Spreading too thin or too thick in alternative tins will affect the texture and cooking time
- Bake for an extra 5 minutes if you prefer rock-hard flapjack. Alternatively, if you like soft and chewy, bake for 5 minutes less
- Don’t raise the oven temperature to cook the flapjack quickly. A slow even bake is best to avoid a soggy middle
- Keep an eye on the flapjack as it bakes. Ten minutes before the recommended cooking time is up, check to ensure your flapjack is not cooking too quickly. And rotate the tin if your oven is browning one side more than the other. Take out of the oven when the flapjack is golden at the edges
- Don’t over-bake it accidentally. When golden around the edges the centre of the tin will likely look quite loose. This is normal. As the flapjack cools in the tin it will firm up
- Firmly score the portions when hot but cut fully when cold – this is the best way to avoid the flapjack breaking up into irregularly shaped pieces and crumbling as it is cut
Gemma
So goooooddddd😍😍😍😍😍
Jane Coupland
Thank you Gemma!