Sticky date flapjacks
Makes: 25 squares
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Maja Smend
Sticky date flapjacks
Recipe by Annie Bell
Of the many alternative sweeteners available, we love date syrup. It's sweeter than sugar, so you can use less of it, and it gives the flapjacks a lovely sticky character
Makes: 25 squares
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
163Kcal
Fat
10gr
Saturates
6gr
Carbs
15gr
Sugars
11gr
Fibre
2gr
Protein
2gr
Salt
0.2gr
Annie Bell
Annie started her career as a chef, and is now an award-winning food writer who has written more than a dozen cookbooks. Her recipes are always as beautiful as they are delicious.
Annie Bell
Annie started her career as a chef, and is now an award-winning food writer who has written more than a dozen cookbooks. Her recipes are always as beautiful as they are delicious.
Ingredients
- 250g lightly salted butter, diced
- 200ml date syrup
- 100g Medjool dates, chopped
- 100ml smooth orange juice
- 50g unrefined demerara sugar
- 350g gluten-free oats (see tip, after step 2)
- 50g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
Step by step
Get ahead
The flapjacks keep in an airtight tin for up to 4 days.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4, and line a 23cm square (or brownie) tin with baking paper. Gently melt the butter with the date syrup in a large saucepan over a medium heat, beating with a spoon until smooth and combined. At the same time, put the dates in a small saucepan with the orange juice, bring to the boil, then simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently until you have a thick mushy purée. Stir this into the butter and syrup, then add the sugar.
-
Stir in the oats, and tip the mixture into the tin, pressing it down using the back of a metal spoon. Bake for 20 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin.TipYou want a slightly wimpish oat rather than anything too hearty, but avoid oats that are on the powdery side. Success here also rests on slightly under-cooking the flapjacks, which leaves them tender and fudgy.
- Gently melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, then drizzle it over the flapjack. Leave the flapjack somewhere cool for a few hours, or overnight, to firm up. Cut into 25 squares.
