Published: · Modified: by REALMEALDEAL ·
Fruit Flapjacks are an easy go-to snack and very simple to make yourself. This recipe will give delicious soft flapjacks with a nice chewy texture. Made with oats, golden syrup, and an assortment of dried mixed fruits, these chewy treats are perfect for when you need a quick energy boost or a satisfying midday snack. Whether you're packing them in your lunchbox or enjoying them as a post-workout treat, fruit flapjacks are sure to become one of your favorite go-to snacks.
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Flapjacks in the UK are sometimes known as Oatbars in the US. The beauty of flapjacks is you can add so many different flavours to them, or leave them plain. For a lighter flapjack recipe, check out myMaple Syrup Flapjacks. A perfect flapjack recipe for using up over-ripe bananas and one with less added sugar is myBanana Flapjack or Oatmeal bars or for an easy breakfast bar with a little crunch, my Easy Granola Flapjacks bars. If you're after another recipe that uses mixed dried fruit, check out my very popular Fruit Tea Loafrecipe.
Jump to:
- Ingredients
- Instructions
- Top Tip
- Make them Vegan
- Variations
- Green Tip
- Equipment
- Storage
- Sustainability
- Top tip
- FAQ
- Related
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Reviews
Ingredients
You need just five simple ingredients to make these Mixed Fruit Flapjacks.
- Rolled Oats - I always use rolled oats rather than jumbo oats as they bind together more easily.
- Unsalted Butter - use unsalted butter or a spread.
- Golden Syrup - sometimes also known as light treacle, a thick syrup that will bind everything together.
- Dark Brown or Muscovado sugar - an unrefined can sugar. It has a dark brown colour, moist texture, and a toffee-like taste.
- Dried Mixed Fruit - a mixture of sultanas, currants, and candied citrus peel.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Weigh out all your ingredients before starting.
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat and stir in the sugar and syrup.
Stir in the oats and dried mixed fruit.
Make sure everything is evenly coated in the syrup and butter.
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 it down firmly using the back of a spoon. Make sure you spread it right up to the corners of the tray. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes. Then leave to cool.
Top Tip
Once cooled to room temperature, pop your flapjack in the refrigerator for about an hour. This makes them much easier to cut. Use a sharp knife.
Make them Vegan
It's very simple to make these Fruit Flapjacks suitable for a vegan diet. Substitute the unsalted butter with a vegan or dairy-free spread. 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 cow's 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.
Variations
There are lots of other ingredients you can add to these chewy flapjacks. Don't overdo it or you will alter the ratio of wet to dry ingredients. I recommend sticking with 100g / 3.5oz in total of dried mixed fruit and anything from the list below.
- Sunflower Seeds
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Glace cherries
- Dried apricots
- Dates
- Chocolate Chips
- Desiccated Coconut
- Chopped Nuts
Green Tip
Flapjacks are a great way to reduce food waste. The crumbs at the bottom of cereal boxes that no one wants can be saved and added to the recipe for a bit of extra crunch! I save these up in an airtight jar and add them whenever I'm making flapjacks.
I use a reusable oven liner for baking flapjacks that I just wash in hot soapy water after each use. This helps me minimise my waste.
Equipment
- A large pan that you can stir all the ingredients together in.
- Baking tray roughly 25cm x 35cm or 10 inches x 14 inches.
- Greaseproof baking paper or oven liner.
Storage
I find it best to store flapjacks in the fridge so that 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 need to go in the fridge.
You can also freeze flapjacks for 2 -3 months and defrost them one piece at a time which is super handy.
Sustainability
Golden syrup, sugar, and dried mixed fruit can all be boughtFairtrade, which is a great direct way to help some of the world's poorest farmers and ensure they get paid a fair price for their produce.
Top tip
Don't overcook the flapjacks. Once they start to turn golden brown at the edges they are ready to come out. Overcooked flapjacks can turn out too hard.
FAQ
Why are my Flapjacks Falling Apart?
There are several reasons flapjacks fall apart. Firstly, the binding ingredient may not be enough to hold all the ingredients together. This recipe uses golden syrup as the binding agent. I've tried lighter syrups such as agave syrup. The flapjacks come out ok and still taste great, but do fall apart more easily.
The second reason in my experience is storage. Flapjacks need to be kept cold and are best stored in the fridge. This will help them hold their shape.
If your flapjacks do fall apart in warm weather, just press all the pieces back into the tray as you did before you cooked them and place the tray in the fridge for a few hours. Once cold, you can cut them up again.
Can you Freeze Flapjacks?
You can freeze flapjacks for 2 - 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. Defrost them overnight in the fridge or at room temperature.
Should Flapjacks be soft when they come out of the oven?
None of the ingredients need to actually 'cook.' The reason for putting flapjacks in the oven is simply so that the heat turns the syrup runny and allows it to spread evenly and coat all the ingredients. When you take your tray out of the oven, the mixture will be quite runny. As the mixture cools, it will become firmer.
Looking for other Easy Snack Recipes like this? Try these:
- Maple Syrup Flapjacks with Apple
1 Hours 20 Minutes
- Easy Banana Flapjacks (Oatmeal Bars)
1 Hours 20 Minutes
- Moist Fruit Tea Loaf (Fat Free)
1 Hours 10 Minutes
30 Minutes
📖 Recipe
Easy Fruit Flapjack (Oatbars)
REALMEALDEAL
Soft and Chewy Fruit Flapjack bars are the perfect sweet treat.
4.31 from 13 votes
Print Recipe⭐Rate Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Cooling time 1 hour hr
Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Course Snack
Cuisine American, British
12
Calories 372 kcal
Equipment
25cm x 35cm backing tray
Baking paper or reusable oven liner
Ingredients
- 250 g unsalted butter
- 225 g golden syrup available fairtrade
- 75 g dark brown sugar or muscovado, available fairtrade
- 375 g oats
- 100 g dried mixed fruit available fairtrade
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 & melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat
250 g unsalted butter
Stir in the sugar and syrup and turn off the heat
225 g golden syrup, 75 g dark brown sugar
Stir in the oats and dried mixed fruit
375 g oats, 100 g dried mixed fruit
Line a baking tray roughly 25cm x 35cm with baking paper or a reusable oven liner and tip the mixture in. Spread it evenly using the back of a spoon. Press it down firmly, ensuring you spread it 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 then when it is hard, it can be cut up into squares.
Notes
Ingredient Notes
- Rolled Oats - I always use rolled oats rather than jumbo oats as they bind together more easily.
- Unsalted Butter - use unsalted butter or a spread.
- Golden Syrup - sometimes also known as light treacle, a thick syrup that will bind everything together.
- Dark Brown or Muscovado sugar - an unrefined can sugar. It has a dark brown colour, moist texture, and a toffee-like taste.
- Dried Mixed Fruit - a mixture of sultanas, currants, and candied citrus peel.
Recipe Variation
For a bit of variety, you could also add some mixed seeds such as pumpkin or sunflower seeds along with the dried mixed fruit. Glace cherries also go well. Dried apricots, dates or even chocolate chips are also great to add. Flapjacks are also a great way to reduce food waste. The crumbs at the bottom of cereal boxes that no one wants to use up can be saved and added to a flapjack recipe for a bit of extra crunch!
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
Calories: 372kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 5gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 7mgPotassium: 183mgFiber: 4gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 521IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 2mg
The Nutritional Values are computer generated estimates based on industry standards and are provided as a helpful guide only.
Author REALMEALDEAL
Tried this recipe?Mention @realmealdealuk or tag #realmealdeal!
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Tina
Disaster! I made these with jumbo oats and followed the recipe to the letter. When cutting into bars they were so soft and wet that they fell apart almost as if they still needed to be cooked. They seem to have a lot of syrupy liquid pooling in the bottom of the tin when cooling. I cooked for 20 mins rather than 15mins to get more colour to the top. What went wrong please? Other recipes seem to use less syrup but more sugar and cook longer.
Reply
REALMEALDEAL
Hi Tina
Sorry these didn't work out for you. Let me see if I can trouble shoot it for you. I suggest in the recipe that once cool you place them in the refridgerator and then slice them once cold. The mixture will be quite runny when it comes out of the oven, but will firm up once cooled properly. The ratio of oats to butter and golden syrup does work - recipes can vary but I've found this combination to be the best for a soft chewy texture. Other syrups will give a different consistency. I hope that you can make them again and thank you for reaching out to me with your question.Reply
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!
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