Toffee Apple Flapjack

Whilst it would be perfectly acceptable to serve this toffee apple flapjack right through the year, it is particularly suited to autumn days, because a little flurry of cinnamon spice has been injected into the oaty flapjack mix.

Toffee apple flapjack will surprise and delight as they are bitten into.

I feel I may have missed the boat for these toffee apple flapjacks this year, since toffee apple is synonymous with Bonfire Night, here in the UK, and I’m a day late. Oh well.

Honestly though, these bars are too good to restrict to just one day a year.

Hidden in the middle of this bake is a layer of ultra-delicious & intensely golden toffee apple sauce. Combined with the firm and syrupy-sweet oat layers, the result is traditional flapjack with a seasonal twist.

If you are serving these up on Bonfire night then be sure to check out my other seasonal serves for this festivity including savoury goodies such as mushy peas, grey peas and bacon and spiced lamb rolls. Don’t forget the bonfire toffee or thor cake (a regional variation of parkin) for afters.

What Does Flapjack Mean?

Flapjack is a word with several meanings depending on location.

An English person talking about flapjack is referring to these sweet & syrupy tray-baked oat bars. In their simplest form, they consist of rolled oats, butter, brown sugar and golden syrup. Yum!

They are alternatively known as muesli bars, cereal bars, granola bars or oat bars.

In Northern America, however, flapjack is another term for pancake.

As my photographs make clear, today I’m talking about toffee apple oat bars, not toffee apple pancakes (though they sound like heaven to me too).

How to Make Toffee Apple FlapJack

Making this unconventional twist on the classic is very simple:

• Begin by making the toffee apple sauce: combine the butter, sugar, syrup and apple slices in a pan.

• Cook to 108C/ 226F (test using a digital food thermometer such as a Thermapen), then stir in cream and a pinch of salt
• Next make the flapjack mix by heating butter, sugar & syrup together to form a liquid sauce and mixing in oats & spices
• Spread half of the flapjack mix into a baking tin and bake briefly
• Top with the toffee apple sauce and carefully cover with the remaining flapjack mix
• Bake for a further 35 minutes and cut into squares

Why do my flapjacks fall apart/ crumble?

Confession: I used to hate making flapjack. Why? Because they would always fall apart.

I don’t like repeat failures in the kitchen, so of course, I worked hard at solving my problem. It turns out that the answer is really simple.

Flapjack tends to fall apart when the ratio between liquids (ie melted butter, sugar and syrup) and dry ingredients (oats, fruit etc) is not quite right. Too many oats will lead to a drier bake that crumbles and breaks easily.

The result is messy (but still very delicious) bars.

Get the ratio of liquid:dry ingredients right and the problem is solved.

I’ve also found that I have much more success using regular rolled oats rather than fancy jumbo oats. I guess that the smaller oats just stick together more compactly when pressed into the tin.

My final tip when making these toffee apple oat bars is to cut the bars twice. First of all, let the tin cool for 10 minutes after baking and mark out the squares. once completely cool, cut the bars fully. And always use a very sharp knife. Do this and your oat bars will be neat.

Is flapjack gluten-free?

In a nutshell, most flapjack should be gluten-free. Pure oats are gluten-free and safe for most people with gluten intolerance. The other typical ingredients – sugar, syrup and butter – are all typically gluten-free too.

However, there is a caveat to bear in mind. Oats that are produced in the same place as wheat, barley and rye could get contaminated with these other grains that are not gluten-free.

Similarly, an unconventional flavoured flapjack might contain certain additional ingredients that inject gluten into the oaty mix.

My advice is to always check the label of your ingredients. It’s a simple yet essential step to take if your bake is destined for a gluten-intolerant or gluten-sensitive recipient.

These toffee apple oat bars are gluten-free provided that the oats used have been verified accordingly.

Is flapjack healthy?

Sorry to disappoint you, but no, typical flapjack, including these toffee apple oat bars, is not healthy. They contain a lot of butter, a lot of sugar and a copious glug of golden syrup (aka more sugar) to boot.

There is no way these toffee apple bars are remotely wholesome, but they are incredibly tasty and well worth a splurge when a treat is in order.

Make them – soon.

More flapjack recipes

Have you made this toffee apple flapjack recipe? Please let me know if you enjoyed it by leaving a review.

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