How to make Cranberry and White Chocolate Flapjack

Hello! Thanks for taking the time to come along and read the post! At last, the long awaited first post of Marie's Bakehouse.

So here it is, the recipe to Cranberry and White Chocolate Flapjack.  Really easy, brilliant to make with the children, and incredibly yummy. 

Flapjack is amazingly versatile and you change change the flavourings really easily by changing what you put in them, and/or drizzle on top.  You can exchange the cranberries for cherries, raisins, sultanas, nuts, chocolate chips...whatever you like.

Ingredients
225g (8oz) butter or baking margarine
225g (8oz) light soft brown sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
350g (12oz) rolled oats
150g (4 1/4 oz) cranberries
100g (3 1/2 oz) white chocolate

Now, although I would agree with using the best ingredients you can afford for some recipes, not all recipes need it, so even if you are baking on a budget there are some recipes which lend themselves to using cheaper ingredients, and the end product is still incredibly yummy.  And this is one of those recipes.  If you are a real lover of butter, then use it in this recipe, but baking margarine will still produce a great taste.  Equally, cheap supermarket own brand porridge oats, cheaper supermarket branded golden syrup and cheap own brand chocolate can still be used in this recipe with fabulous results.  So don't be afraid to use them, and save a few pennies here and there.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees (Gas mark 3), and line a 10" x 8" tin with baking paper. (or a similar size tin will do- don't go out buying another one especially).

 

2. Chop the butter or margarine into chunks and put it in a saucepan, along with the light brown soft sugar, and the golden syrup.  Now in the photographs later, I've put the other ingredients into a bowl, but if you want to cut down on the washing up (and let's face it, who doesn't?), use a large saucepan at this point, and you can add the other ingredients to the pan later, which will save washing up a bowl.
Melt the ingredients together over a low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, so it doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan.

3. Once the ingredients have melted, either add the mixture to the oats and cranberries in a large bowl or, if you are saving on the washing up, add the oats and cranberries to the pan.

4. Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly.

 

5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, and press down firmly to make a roughly even layer.

 

 

6. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes.  Check it after 30 minutes and see what sort of colour it is.  You are looking for a golden colour that is pretty much evenly distributed across the whole bake.  If if isn't, pop it back in again and check in a few minutes.

 

7. Leave it to cool for 10 minutes then lift the whole thing out using the paper to lift it, onto a cooling rack. Now if you aren't drizzling with chocolate, at this stage score the flapjack where you are going to be cutting it.  It'll make it easier to chop up later.  Otherwise, leave it there until it has cooled fully. 
Once cooled, melt the white chocolate in the microwave- on high for 30 seconds, then stir, and continue like that until it has all melted. Then using a teaspoon, drizzle the chocolate all over the top of the flapjack.

8. Once the chocolate has set, chop it up into pieces, and serve to friends and family.  Or if you like it a lot hide it in an airtight container away from prying eyes ;0) It's best eaten within a week, but will last a bit longer, if you've been restrained enough not to eat it all by then....

Let me know if you've had a go at the recipe, and what you thought, and any adaptations that you've made.  Let's share the baking love :0)