These Vegan Flapjacks with apple and maple syrup are a delicious combination of flavours all year round, but especially in the autumn or fall. With a prep time of just 5 minutes, this is an easy recipe. Using a vegan spread makes them dairy free and if you're looking for a flapjack recipe without golden syrup, then the maple syrup used here makes these flapjacks lighter but still gives a nice chewy texture. For an alternative recipe, check out my Soft Chewy Fruit Flapjacks with golden syrup.
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Common Questions
A flapjack in the UK, Australia and New Zealand is better known as an Oat bar in the US. Made from rolled oats, syrup, butter and sugar and then baked, it makes a great snack or breakfast item.
The most common mistake people make with flapjacks or oat bars is over boiling the butter sugar and syrup mixture. This will make the flapjacks hard rather than giving them a nice chewy texture.
This is usually down to temperature. If they are kept in a warm environment, they will often start to fall apart. In order to cut nice neat squares, you need to make sure the flapjacks are properly cold and I recommend storing in the fridge for at least one hour before cutting.
Ingredients
Vegan Butter It's worth noting that not all margarine is vegan. In the US margarine must contain a minimum of 80% fat, but can include some cows milk. Look for non-dairy butter spreads such as light olive oil spreads. You might want to consider avoiding varieties that use palm oil from a sustainability point of view. Some vegan baking recipes replace butter with coconut oil. The problem with coconut oil is that it is very sensitive to temperature changes and I wouldn't recommend using coconut oil for this recipe. It will also give quite a different taste.
Dark Brown Sugar acts like treacle when melted and helps to bind the ingredients together. Also sometimes known as Muscovado sugar.
Maple syrup is lighter than golden syrup & typically has a lower sugar content. Maple syrup is a natural syrup and comes from the sap of the maple tree. There are different types available and the most noticeable difference is between maple 'flavoured' syrups and pure maple syrup. A pure maple syrup will have a maple leaf logo. It's generally more expensive than a flavoured syrup but I would use this if you can.
Oats. Because maple syrup is not as sticky as golden syrup, I recommend using fine rolled oats rather than jumbo oats as fine rolled hold together better.
Apples Use normal eating apples as the flapjack won't cook for very long and these are sweeter than cooking apples. Peel and grate the apple. I've found that grating the apple helps to distribute the flavour and also holds together better.
Pecan Nuts have a sweet flavour and crunchy texture and go very well with the apple and maple syrup. Break them up into small pieces before adding with the oats. These are optional but helps with a real autumnal flavour.
Ground Cinnamon this is optional but again adds a lovely autumnal flavour to the maple syrup.
Recipe Variations
In addition to the basic recipe, there are lots of additional ingredients you can add to make your flapjacks more exciting. I suggest using just one or two at a time as otherwise you may not have enough butter syrup and sugar mixture to bind everything together properly.
Other ideas of ingredients you can add include :- mixed dried fruit, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, white or dark chocolate drops, raisins, dried apricots.
How to Make Them
This is a very straightforward recipe. Gather all your ingredients together first, then you will need just 5 minutes to mix everything together.
You need a large pan that you can stir all the ingredients together in and a baking tray, roughly 28cm x 18cm, or another size that will give a similar area. This will make flapjacks that are about 2cm deep. You will also need baking paper or a liner. I use a reusable over liner that I can wash in hot soapy water after each use. This helps me keep my waste to a minimum. You don't need to grease an oven liner as it comes away from the flapjack easily. With baking paper, you should grease it with vegan spread.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 & melt the vegan spread in a large saucepan over a low heat. Stir it gently until it has all completely melted. Turn off the heat, add the sugar and the maple syrup and stir together until all the sugar has disolved and you have a thick dark mixture. Over boiling the sugar butter and syrup is one reason why flapjacks go hard.
- Add in the oats, grated apple, pecan nuts and ground cinnamon and any other extra ingredients you are using, see the list of variations for ideas.
- Stir everything together, making sure your dry ingredients are well coated with the butter syrup and sugar.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper or a reusable oven liner and tip the mixture in. Spread it evenly using the back of a spoon and press the mixture down, ensuring you spread right up to the corners of the tray. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Once cool store in the fridge for at least one hour before cutting into squares. This recipe makes 8-10 flapjacks about 7cm square, but you can cut them any size you like.
Sustainability
A Vegan flapjack is a sustainable alternative to other flapjacks as it doesn't use any dairy products. As part of our efforts to reduce our carbon emissions, scientists are calling on us all to reduce our meat and dairy consumption. This is also backed up by the UN. I have more tips on how to eat sustainably in my blog post.
Storage
Flapjacks are best stored in the fridge so they stay firm. You can also store them in an air-tight container in a cupboard but they may break apart more easily. They will keep for 10 days in the fridge. I find in Winter, they are fine stored in a cupboard, but in Summer, they definitely need to go in the fridge. You can freeze flapjacks for up to 3 months. Place a piece of baking paper between each one to stop them all freezing together in one big lump and freeze in an airtight container.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Apple and Maple Syrup Flapjacks
Equipment
- 28cm x 18cm backing tray or similar area. This gives flapjacks 2cm deep.
- Baking paper or reusable oven liner
Ingredients
- 125 g vegan butter organic
- 100 g dark brown sugar organic, fairtrade
- 80 g maple syrup organic, fairtrade
- 225 g oats organic
- 75 g pecan nuts chopped, organic, optional
- 1 eating apples peeled and grated
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon fairtrade, optional
- 50 g pumpkin seeds optional
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 & melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat125 g vegan butter
- Stir in the sugar and syrup and turn off the heat100 g dark brown sugar, 80 g maple syrup
- Stir in the oats, peacan nuts, grated apple and cinnamon and pumpkin seeds225 g oats, 75 g pecan nuts, 1 eating apples, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 50 g pumpkin seeds
- Line a baking tray roughly 25cm x 35cm with baking paper or a reusable oven liner and tip the mixture in. Spread it evenly and press the mixture into the tin using the back of a spoon, ensuring you spread right up to the corners. Cook in the oven on the middle shelf for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Once cool store in the fridge then when it is hard, it can be cut up into squares.
Notes
Recipe Variation
In addition to the basic recipe, you can add in some of the following. Mixed dried fruit, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, white or dark chocolate drops, raisins, dried apricots. Use one or two at a time as otherwise you may not have enough butter syrup and sugar mixture to bind everything together properly.Tips
The most common mistake people make with flapjacks is over boiling the butter sugar and syrup mixture. This will make the flapjacks hard rather than a nice chewy texture. Only cut the flapjacks when they are cold and have been stored in the fridge for at least one hour.Storage
Store your flapjacks in the fridge to make sure they keep their shape. They will keep for about 10 days. You can also freeze flapjacks. Separate each slice with some greaseproof paper and freeze in an airtight container. They will freeze well for 3 months.Nutrition per serving
The Nutritional Values are computer generated estimates based on industry standards and are provided as a helpful guide only.
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