Flapjacks

 

I'm not really sure where I originally heard about Flapjacks. The first time I tried making them was about a year ago when I found a recipe in an absolutely beautiful book about the domestic arts. The book made them look so good and the description. I promptly ordered some Golden Syrup from an import company and went to work on my first batch. It turns out that when the book was converted from the metric system to our unit of measure here in the U.S. some things just didn't translate. My first batch of flapjacks were oat and butter soup! Thinking I must have done something wrong I actually made a second batch and tried cooking them longer, blackened oat and butter soup! The jar of Golden Syrup was not very big and I paid way more money than I should have I was worried I would run out of syrup before I actually made a good batch. I wrote to the company and they fessed up that the conversions were bad. They sent me two copies of the second (corrected) printing as a replacement. The problem was that the second printing was not any better. Two more batches produced nothing more than sticky oats. The remaining 1/4 cup of Golden Syrup has been sitting in my cupboard since. I figured Flapjacks were not meant to be for me until....

This month Molly Wizenberg shared a recipe for Flapjacks in her Column called Cooking Life in Bon Appetit magazine. Since Molly has not failed me yet (she led me to the perfect scone), I had to trust her and use the last of my Golden Syrup to make this final batch. They turned out perfectly, unfortunately I am out of Golden Syrup!!

Flapjacks
adapted from Molly Wizenberg's Cooking Life

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup (firmly packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup golden syrup (it should be pretty easy to find if you live in the lower 48, Amazon now sells it as well)
2 1/3 cups quick-cooking oats (I used the thick farmhouse type and they turned out fine)
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan. Combine butter, sugar, and golden syrup. ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until sugar melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Add oats and salt and mix until evenly coated. Transfer mixture to  pan and spread evenly.
Bake, rotating pan halfway through until top is golden and edges are dark, but not burned. Total baking time for me was 30 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 5 minutes. Cut into 4 squares; cut each into 4 triangles (mixture will still be soft). Cool completely in pan before serving. It is very important to leave them in the pan until they are completely cool, otherwise they will not hold together.