Flapjacks

Now this is a flapjack!

OK, so first of all to clarify things a little, these are English flapjacks, which are sweet homemade granola bars (but way better...) not pancakes. We finished the brownies a little too quickly, so my hankering for something sweet led me to make this 'family favorite'.

The recipe is even simpler than the brownies. There are only four ingredients.

Start by preheating your oven to 350 F. Then melt 5 oz butter gently in a medium saucepan. Once melted, stir in 5 oz brown sugar, and 6 tbsp golden syrup (see note below). Once everything is nicely mixed, switch off the heat and stir in 8 oz rolled oats. Grease a 9 inch square baking pan and press the mixture down into it. Bake for 18 minutes. Remove the pan to a wire rack; allow to cool a little.

Carefully slice into 9 (or more or less, depending on how large you like them) squares. At this point, they will still be pretty soft. Once cooled down to room temperature, I like to put the pan in the refrigerator to firm them up and allow them to set properly.

Enjoy! Ours are going fast...

Note 1 - Golden syrup is a British product, a little tricky to find in the USA, but I did get some from my local Shaw's store, in the 'International aisle', with the Heinz baked beans and McVities Digestive biscuits...  Look for 'Lyles' brand. If you cannot find it, you can substitute an equal volume of maple syrup.

Note 2 - Metric info: 5 oz = 140g; 8 oz = 225g; 350 F = 175 C.

Quick Homemade Brownies

We were feeling like something sweet to eat the other night. We were fresh out of junk food, after deciding to live the organic life. Don't get me wrong - unhealthy food is fine, it should just be simple, preferably homemade and not processed...

So, at 10 pm, not wanting to go to the store, this is what I found in 'The Good Housekeeping Cookbook' (they call them Cocoa Brownies):

Mix together 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup cocoa (unsweetened), 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt.
Melt 4 oz butter in a large pan over low heat. Switch off the heat, and move the pan aside if using an electric stove. Whisk in 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract, the flour mixture and lastly 4 oz crushed walnuts.

Pour the 'batter' into a pre-greased 9 inch square cake pan and bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 25 minutes. A toothpick pushed into the mix should have a little crumb attached to it still. Allow to cool before cutting and eating. We found them best the next day, after leaving them in the fridge overnight. As you can tell from the picture, they went fast.

I like this recipe because it is almost as easy as box brownies, but you know what goes into it, and, if you have a reasonably well-stocked kitchen, you should have everything you need. If not, the ingredients are easy to find...

Note 1 - Makes a small batch - 16 very small brownies. If you want to do more, you could double the recipe. If you use the same pan, you will need to bake them a little longer, as they will be thicker.

Note 2 - Use the best cocoa you have/can find. I used Ghirardelli, and think it made a difference over a generic brand.

Note 3 - Thanks to Brad G. for the inspiration.

Note 4 - Although I didn't, the walnuts would probably have benefited from being toasted before adding them to the mix.

Note 5 - Metric info: 1/2 cup = 120 ml; 4 oz = 110g; 1 cup = 240 ml; 9 in = 23 cm; 350 F = 175 C.