Chewy Peanut butter flapjack with jam is an easy recipe that gives this classic British traybake a nutty twist. They are buttery, oaty, syrupy, jammy and full of peanut flavour.
Try a slice with a peanut butter & jelly milkshake alongside it!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Jammy centre: There's a sticky layer of jam baked into the centre for a fruity bite.
Taste: Buttery, syrupy, nutty and jammy.
Texture: Perfectly chewy.
Quick & Easy: Have this peanut butter and jam flapjack in the oven in around 20 minutes.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
- How to Make Peanut Butter Oat Bars
- Storage Instructions
- Tips For Perfectly Chewy Flapjack
- Expert Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Variations and Add-ins
- Try these easy traybakes too
- 📖 Recipe
- Tips For Perfectly Chewy Flapjack
- Expert Tips
- Variations and Add-ins
- 💬 Comments
British flapjack (known as oat bars in the U.S.) is a very popular traybake. This flapjack recipe with peanut butter and jam takes inspiration from the popular American sandwich. It's a lovely twist on the classic oat traybake.
For more tasty flapjack recipes try my Biscoff flapjack and cocoa flapjack. They are both deliciously different. Steering in a slightly different direction, take your oats alongside a helping of cornflakes in my popular date bars, cornflake flapjack, or coconut cornflake slices.
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
Oats: Use regular rolled oats (porridge oats) rather than steel cut oats or jumbo oats. The smaller the oat flakes used the less chance that the flapjack will crumble as they absorb the liquid ingredients fully and they are easier to compress in the tin that larger oats.
Butter: Real butter gives the best flavour to this peanut butter flapjack recipe. Use it if you can. If you need to use dairy-free butter opt for vegan block-style butter and add an extra ¼ teaspoon of salt.
Golden syrup: Sweet, sticky, thick and gorgeously golden, this is a vital ingredient in British flapjack recipes. It's getting easier to find outside of the UK but if you cannot get hold if it the next best alternative would be light corn syrup.
Peanut butter: Use smooth or crunchy, the choice is yours.
Jam/ jelly: The classic American peanut butter and jelly sandwich typically uses grape jelly, which is a smooth, seedless preserve made from Concord grapes. Smuckers and Welch's are popular brands. If you can use this ingredient then do so, but if you cannot get hold of it (or you can only find it at an extortionate price), raspberry jam (preferably seedless) is a great alternative.
How to Make Peanut Butter Oat Bars
Full instructions and measurements are given in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Absolutely no fancy skills or equipment are needed to make these peanut butter oat bars.
- Step 1: Combine all spices into a large bowl and combine thoroughly with mixture
- Step 2: Use a handheld balloon whisk to stir the ingredients until they combine to form a smooth, slightly thick, liquid.
- Step 3: Add the oats and mix in, using a wooden spoon, until evenly coated.
- Step 4: Spoon approximately half of the oaty mixture into a prepared tin and push down firmly to completely cover the base. spread the jam over the top to within 1cm of the tin edges.
- Step 5: Spoon small piles of the remaining oat mixture over the top and carefully spread it out. Use the back of a spoon to press it down gently but firmly to form a level top, covering the jam.
- Step 6: Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and the edges look a little crispy. The centre will firm up as it cools. After 10 minutes score the top of the flapjack into portions but wait until it is completely cold before cutting it with a sharp knife.
Storage Instructions
Your flapjack with peanut butter and jam should be wrapped in foil and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
This peanut butter flapjack can also be frozen. Wrap the bars in food wrap, label and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost fully, at room temperature, before eating. The texture may be slightly softer than prior to freezing.
Tips For Perfectly Chewy Flapjack
The secret to perfectly chewy flapjack comes down to two things:
- Golden syrup: Thick & sticky, it's the perfect ingredient when seeking a chewy texture.
- Bake time: I have specified 30 minutes to create flapjack that is chewy in the centre and crisper at the edges. To enhance the chewy texture, cook for slightly less time - try 25 minutes.
Expert Tips
- Use the correct sized tin: In this case a 20-cm (8-inch) square tin. If you use a larger tin you will struggle to create a base and cover for the layer of jam in the centre of this flapjack with peanut butter.
- Weigh ingredients accurately: The best method is to use digital kitchen scales and measure in grams. I do not give cup measurements because they are wildly inaccurate.
- Flatten your flapjack: It's frustrating when your flapjack puffs up around the edges, given it a less professional look. But the fix is easy: as soon as it comes out of the oven run the back of a dessert spoon around the edges of the pan to flatten the flapjack before it cools and sets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Golden syrup is always the best option when making British flapjack. However, if you cannot find it, substitute light corn syrup.
If you use steel cut or jumbo oats which are larger than rolled oats your flapjack is more likely to fall apart. Similarly, if you did not press the mixture firmly into the tin your peanut butter flapjack is more prone to crumbling. Finally, cutting flapjack whilst hot or warm can leand to breakages.
If flapjack is over baked it will turn hard and crunchy once it has cooled.
Yes, you can. Make sure that you use a vegan block butter substitute and that the sugar used is vegan.
Variations and Add-ins
- Add peanuts: Stir 60g of chopped peanuts into the flapjack mixture.
- Omit the jam: This will give straightforward chewy peanut butter flapjack recipe.
- Chocolate chips: Mix 100g chocolate chips into the oaty mixture. Go for milk chocolate or dark chocolate.
- Swap the peanut butter: Try any other nut butter you fancy, such as almond butter, hazelnut butter or pistachio butter.
- Drizzle: Warmed peanut butter and/or dark chocolate drizzled across the top of this peanut butter and jam flapjack enhances the presentation.
Try these easy traybakes too
Have you made this easy flapjack recipe with peanut butter and jam? Please leave a rating below as i love to hear how readers get along with my recipes.
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📖 Recipe
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Peanut Butter Flapjack
Ingredients
- 325 g Rolled oats
- 200 g Unsalted butter
- 90 g Golden syrup
- 90 g Light soft brown sugar
- 75 g Peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
- 125 g Grape jelly (or seedless raspberry jam)
- ¼ teaspooon Salt
Instructions
- Grease an 8 inch square baking tin with butter then line it with baking parchment.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/ 325°F/ GM 3.
- Put the butter, sugar, syrup and peanut butter into a large, heavy pan. Heat gently, stirring frequently until everything has melted.200 g Unsalted butter, 90 g Golden syrup, 90 g Light soft brown sugar, 75 g Peanut butter
- Use a balloon whisk to mix the ingredients until they combine to form a smooth, slightly thick, liquid (if you use crunchy peanut butter expect to see the peanut pieces in the liquid).
- Stir in the oats and salt using a wooden spoon until evenly coated.325 g Rolled oats, ¼ teaspooon Salt
- Spoon approximately half of the oat mixture into the tin and push down, using the back of a metal spoon, firmly to completely cover the base.
- Spread the jam (jelly) over the oats to within 1cm of the edges of the tin.125 g Grape jelly
- Carefully top the jam with the remaining oat mixture - use a spoon to put small dollops across the jam and spread out using the back of the spoon. Ensure that all of the jam is covered to prevent it from bubbling up. Press the oats down gently, but firmly.
- Bake for 30 minutes until golden and the edges look slightly crispy. The centre will firm up as it cools. If the edges have risen/ puffed up, run the back of a metal spoon over them to flatten the flapjack.
- Let stand for 10 minutes then use a sharp knife to score portions on the flapjack.
- When completely cold, remove the flapjack from the tin and cut out the marked portions.
Notes
Tips For Perfectly Chewy Flapjack
The secret to perfectly chewy flapjack comes down to two things:- Golden syrup: Thick & sticky, it's the perfect ingredient when seeking a chewy texture.
- Bake time: I have specified 30 minutes to create flapjack that is chewy in the centre and crisper at the edges. To enhance the chewy texture, cook for slightly less time - try 25 minutes.
Expert Tips
- Use the correct sized tin: In this case a 20-cm (8-inch) square tin. If you use a larger tin you will struggle to create a base and cover for the layer of jam in the centre of this flapjack with peanut butter.
- Weigh ingredients accurately: The best method is to use digital kitchen scales and measure in grams. I do not give cup measurements because they are wildly inaccurate.
- Flatten your flapjack: It's frustrating when your flapjack puffs up around the edges, given it a less professional look. But the fix is easy: as soon as it comes out of the oven run the back of a dessert spoon around the edges of the pan to flatten the flapjack before it cools and sets.
Variations and Add-ins
- Add peanuts: Stir 60g of chopped peanuts into the flapjack mixture.
- Omit the jam: This will give straightforward chewy peanut butter flapjack.
- Chocolate chips: Mix 100g chocolate chips into the oaty mixture. Go for milk chocolate or dark chocolate.
- Swap the peanut butter: Try any other nut butter you fancy, such as almond butter, hazelnut butter or pistachio butter.
- Drizzle: Warmed peanut butter and/or dark chocolate drizzled across the top of this peanut butter and jam flapjack enhances the presentation.
Jo says
Finally got around to making this and, it was so good, I made it again the next week! This is absolutely delicious, very simple to make and scarily addictive! Fab recipe.
Jane Saunders says
Thankyou Jo, I'm so pleased you've enjoyed it. That's a good reminder for me to make it again.