Okay, I promise promise that next week I will move on from Deliciously Ella recipes. However, flapjacks are my absolute FAVOURITE things and so I could not resist. Also, like most of the recipes, I have adjusted this recipe a little by using almond butter rather than cashew butter, adding dried cranberries and flaked almonds (Leon cranberry bakewell inspired holla). I think next time I might try and make it more banana-y with some cinnamon, or my friend Debbie posted a seriously amazing-looking salted caramel apple flapjack recipe on her blog that I might have to steal! (https://strongandsoulful.wordpress.com/2015/10/06/salted-caramel-apple-flapjacks/)

This recipe turned out to be pretty pricey. It used up all my almond butter, most of my maple syrup and quite a lot of my coconut oil. These things aren’t cheap… However, I had all of the girls round last night to book a skiing holiday (YAY) so they absolutely deserve some pricey flapjacks (and the prosecco that went with them).

I made these on Monday night after my first day back at Uni when I reeeeally needed to do some stress baking and these did the trick. They were really easy, and so good! Jenna in particular is a big fan. I left the flapjacks covered on the side overnight and in the morning there was a Jenna-sized square cut out of the tin… However, I am no angel, I’ve had one most mornings with my breakfast smoothie! I can’t even put into words the beauty of a guilt-free flapjack with a coffee.

Needed: 360g oats, 2 bananas, 6 tablespoons maple syrup (the majority of a bottle – cry), 6 tablespoons almond butter (note to self – must buy more to accompany dates), 4 tablespoons coconut oil.

Just a quick note on coconut oil – Jamie Oliver is sceptical about their health benefits in his Everyday Superfood. He writes that whilst it is absorbed and turned into energy more quickly, it’s the highest saturated fat on the planet and should therefore be used in moderation. Just some food for thought.

What to do:

1) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

2) Place the oats into a mixing bowl

3) Mash up the bananas with a fork. I did this in the saucepan because I am lazy and I try to minimise washing up. However, if you have nice saucepans, this may not be the best idea in case you scratch the pan etc. My mother would literally kill me if I went around smashing up bananas in her Jamie Oliver saucepans… Then add the maple syrup, almond butter, and coconut oil.

4) Allow the banana mixture to simmer until it becomes a liquid and then pour this over the oats. Mix it all up. At this point, I added my dried cranberries and flaked almonds. This is, of course, optional and changeable with lots of other ingredients. I thought about adding a seed mixture for a more granola bar vibe in the future.

5) Grease a baking tray using some coconut oil (in moderation, remember!) Then add the mixture to the tray, and pat it all down so its nicely squashed together.

6) Bake for 15-20 mins until the top starts to brown a little.

I made these flapjacks pretty late at night so I left them until the next morning to make sure they were fully cooled and squashed together. This made them nice and easy to get out of the tin (as Jenna clearly found out…) Despite moaning about the student-unfriendly price, I now just have one flapjack left and I’m very sad about this situation. I will absolutely be making them again.