Chocolate and Date Flapjack

Louise Mead

There are two schools of thought on what makes the perfect flapjack – either with a good crunch to it, or a nice sticky chewy affair. This is definitely the latter!

Serves: 12
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients

200g rolled oats
250g of dates, finely chopped or whizzed in a food processor
100g bar of dairy-free chocolate, cut/broken into pieces
60g dairy-free spread
3 tablespoons of agave nectar/maple syrup
1 heaped tablespoon of desiccated coconut

There are two schools of thought on what makes the perfect flapjack – either with a good crunch to it, or a nice sticky chewy affair. This is definitely the latter!

Serves: 12
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C, and spray a medium-sized rectangular dish with oil
Put the dairy-free spread and syrup in a pan and heat gentle until melted
Add the dates and desiccated coconut and stir before switching off the heat
Add the oats, and mix thoroughly until the mixture is evenly coated
Add the chocolate, and also the fine dust/crumbs left over from breaking it up
Mix into the mixture, don’t worry if it begins to melt, this will help to bind the mixture
Spoon into your dish, and press it down as much as possible with the back of a spoon
Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on your preferred consistency (longer for crunchier)
Remove from the oven, allow to cool to room temperature
Place in the fridge for an hour or so to firm up enough for cutting
Cut into 12 slices and enjoy!

Notes

For the dish size, I used one that’s 18cm x 23cm but sizes can vary slightly. You may have to adjust cooking times if the overall size is much different as smaller dishes will make a thicker flapjack that may need cooking longer.
If you want to, you can remove the flapjack from the oven about 15 minutes into the cooking time, and carefully turn it out onto a flat baking sheet, so as to cook it more evenly on the underside. This isn’t essential though, and if you do decide to, be very careful as it will still be quite crumbly.