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Flapjacks That Are Gooey, Moist And So Soft
This right here is my popular gooey flapjack recipe; it’s moist, soft and chewy all at the same time! It’s a big hit amongst you, and I love this recipe so much too. Plus, I’ve updated the pictures!
Whenever I think of flapjacks my mind goes right back to my childhood, making easy flapjacks that tasted delicious. The texture melted in your mouth and the top layer was ever so crunchy. So, I just had to recreate it!
But I didn’t stop there; I’ve made lemon flavoured flapjacks, Biscoff flapjacks and chocolate flapjacks too. In fact, I have a whole flapjack category because I can’t stop making them. Oh, and I can’t forget these delicious cherry bakewell flapjacks (they deserve a shout-out too)!
That being said, this recipe has to be my best yet, it’s plain but it’s a really big reader favourite. It’s perfect for those of us who love sticky, soft and gooey types of flapjacks (you definitely need a sweet tooth for this).
Flapjack Recipe Ingredients
I’ve listed the 4 ingredients needed below:
- Golden Syrup: Golden syrup is best to use when making flapjacks.
- Butter: You can use salted or unsalted butter; both are fine to use. I like to use salted butter as it adds a slight saltiness to the flapjacks. Stork also works great.
- Light Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar is melted with butter and golden syrup; it adds an extra caramelised sweetness (as if it wasn’t sweet enough).
- Porridge Oats: We can’t make flapjacks without oats; any brand of oats will do (value packs work great too).
Can I Use Honey Instead Of Golden Syrup?
Yes, they’re both similar in texture but the taste differs, golden syrup has a caramel-like flavour to it, which I prefer. I have a post on golden syrup alternatives.
How To Make The Best Gooey Flapjacks
Ready to tuck into some gooey flapjacks? Here’s a summary of how I make it, you can get the full instructions in the recipe card below:
The first step is to melt butter, light brown sugar and golden syrup together. I like to do this in the microwave on a medium to high heat.
I then mix the oats into the melted mixture and mix it together using a wooden spoon. The mixture will be quite moist and wet, that’s the perfect texture for gooey flapjacks.
Pour the flapjack mixture into a lined baking tin, I used a 9″ square baking tin from Amazon. I spread the mixture evenly into all four corners and bake it for 20 minutes, the flapjacks will be slightly brown, and you’ll notice that the corners are slightly darker and sturdier.
Once the flapjacks are baked, I leave them to cool down before cutting them into squares.
My Top Tips For Making Gooey Flapjacks
Don’t skip lining your baking tin with parchment paper! I used to avoid this step but really it makes removal so much easier. I always leave parchment paper hanging over the sides to easily lift the whole flapjack out.
It’s very likely that the corners and edges will darken more than the middle, this is normal don’t panic! With just 20 minutes in the oven, the colour difference won’t be so strong. The middle section will give you the gooiest slices; which is always my first choice!
Once out of the oven the flapjacks will be very soft but don’t worry, they are not undercooked. Leaving the flapjacks to cool down will allow the flapjack mixture to harden.
Jumbo oats increase the chances of your flapjacks falling apart as they are larger, and we don’t want that! If you only have jumbo oats, you can use them, a great tip is to blend some of the oats in a food processor to get smaller pieces. This will help the flapjacks stick together.
How To Store & Freeze Flapjacks
If there’s any flapjacks left to store (they go quite quickly in my house), keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 to 5 days.
To freeze them, simply cut the flapjacks into squares or your desired shape and place it in an airtight container or freezer bag. It’s best to line each layer with parchment paper to avoid layers of flapjacks sticking together. To defrost the flapjacks, take them out of the freezer and leave them to thaw at room temperature.
Equipment Needed
There’s no special equipment needed to make this recipe, it’s quite simple and very easy to make. If you don’t have these tools below already, you’ll likely need them:
- 9″ square baking tin
- Wooden Spoon
- Mixing Bowls
- Parchment Paper
More Must-Try Easy Recipes
Nothing is better than easy desserts that require minimal effort and minimal ingredients. Below are a few of my favourite simple desserts for you to try:
- Chocolate Chip Flapjacks
- No-bake Kinder Bueno Cheesecake
- No-bake Chocolate Tiffin
- Chocolate Concrete Cake
Gooey Flapjack Recipe (The Best Ever)
Ingredients
- 300 g Porridge Oats
- 200 g Golden Syrup
- 225 g Butter
- 100 g Light Brown Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C Fan, gas mark 4) and line a baking tin with parchment paper.
- Pour butter, golden syrup and light brown sugar into a large mixing bowl or pan. Melt on a medium to high heat stirring frequently. If you’re using the microwave, heat in short bursts (approximately 10 seconds) and stir thoroughly each time.200 g Golden Syrup, 225 g Butter, 100 g Light Brown Sugar
- Once melted, add oats into the mixture and stir until evenly distributed and the oats are coated in the mixture. The flapjack mixture will look quite wet and moist.300 g Porridge Oats
- Pour the flapjack mixture into the lined baking tin and spread the mixture into all four corners.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Once baked, leave the flapjacks to cool as this will allow the flapjacks to harden. Leave the flapjacks to cool down before cutting them into squares, rectangles or your desired shape.
Video
Notes
The Best Gooey Flapjack Recipe
So, what makes this the best flapjack recipe? Um where do I start… My first attempt at making these flapjacks was a complete fail. The flavour was great, but the texture wasn’t as gooey as I had hoped. It was very crumbly and didn’t hold well at all! It can’t be a really gooey flapjack recipe when the flapjacks don’t turn out gooey! So, I tried again and after going through tons of oats, golden syrup, butter and sugar, I’ve finally got it perfect!Nutrition
Music in video from Uppbeat, License code: 08VBCZFHCZBZDBBY
Lou
absolutely gorgeous, and so fast and easy to make……Fantastic. It was gone in a night, once my boys got into it.
Michelle
Hi Lou,
I’m so glad you and your boys loved the flapjacks, it doesn’t last long in my house too!
Debbie
Just in the oven am looking forward to tasting them. Is is 234 calories per slice or for the whole tray of 16 pieces
Michelle
Hi Debbie, thanks for trying the recipe! Yes it’s 234 calories per slice.
Jessica Freeman
This is honestly the best recipe. I’ve tried about 20 recipes/variations up until finding this (including Mary Berry’s) and this is honestly perfect! I’m sat here writing this as I’ve put a double batch in the oven ahead of a garden party we’re holding where we’re serving afternoon tea style food. This is probably the fifth time I’ve used this recipe and I’m so grateful for it!
Michelle
Hi Jessica, thank you for this lovely comment! I’m so glad you like the flapjacks, thanks for trying the recipe 🙂
Cathy
Daughter has just used this recipe to enter the village show hope they turn out winners 🤣
Kimberley Rabey
Hands down the best flapjack recipe I’ve tried!
Michelle
Thank you Kimberley!!
Sally
The best flapjack recipe, so simple and easy to use as a base recipe; I added coconut, ground ginger and used salted butter. They came out delicious. The proportions and timing are spot on for soft and chewy flapjacks.
Michelle
Thank you Sally for your comment! Those additions sound yummy ☺️
Steph Watson
I followed everything to a T and it fell apart. I haven’t been able to make a decent flapjack since I was a kid, don’t know where im going wrong wahhhh
Michelle
Hi Steph, sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you.
I’m wondering if the flapjacks were gooey or dried out when taken out of the oven. If they came out dry, then the oven temperature most likely was too high.
Jo
Best flapjack recipe, they taste amazing and are so gooey!
I’ve used this recipe a few times now and they always seems to fall apart 😞Not sure what I’m doing wrong?
Michelle
Hi Joe, thanks for commenting! Flapjacks can be a bit tricky and there are a few factors that can affect their texture. I’m wondering whether the flapjack mixture was press down into the baking tin as this will help compress the mixture together and prevent it from breaking apart once baked. Oven temperatures often vary from person to person as well, if you have a fan oven bake the flapjacks at 160°C for the same amount of time. Hope this helps!
Kirsty
Just popped these in the oven, made them with my 4yr old grandson. Easiest recipe to follow so quick. We can’t wait to taste 😋
Michelle
Hi Kirsty,
Thanks for commenting, I hope you both enjoy it 🙂!!
Lyndsay McFee
Made these and they are great, I want to try them by adding ground nuts to the mix buy not sure if I just up my volume of liquid or reduce the amount of oats to account for the nuts? What would you suggest?
Michelle
Hi Lyndsay, I’ll try reducing the amount of oats to the nuts. Hope it turns out well 🙂
Joel
Made these around 4pm, it’s now 10pm and let’s say, there is none left. I did 50% purposefully because I didn’t want to eat them all over the next few days. My son had some so thankfully I didn’t eat them all and he said they were a solid 10/10. I used a slightly smaller tray (proportionately) so the flapjack was deeper than yours, I baked for the same amount of time but turned the heat off and left the fan on for a further five minutes. Wow.
Michelle
Hi Joel, amazing! Glad you and your son enjoyed it.
shahbana bhatti
Can we omit the sugar..I don’t havd brown sugar at home..
Michelle
Hey Shahbana, you can make flapjacks without brown sugar (but the texture will be different).
Kate
Can I ask is the oven temperature electric or Fan? thanks
Michelle
Hi Kate, it’s 180°C electric temperature or 160°C fan assisted.
Charlotte Ogden
Just taken these out of the oven, they look and smell amazing! I’ve never made flapjacks before 😂 can’t wait to try one
Michelle
Hope you like it Charlotte!
marie Holland
Absolutely love this recipe and have had many compliments.
I like to add chocolate on the top for more indulgence ❤️
Michelle
Hey Marie! That’s great thanks for commenting 🙂
Marijke
Delicious taste but far too greasy in our humble opinion. Too much butter we reckon.
Lucy
Hiya the instructions say to cut into 9 / show pictures cut into 9 in the tin but the recipe says serves 16. Please confirm which is correct?
Michelle
Hey Lucy, I like to cut the flapjacks into 9 squares (for bigger slices) but you can also cut the flapjacks into 16 squares for more standard-sized portions.
Denise
making my second batch in a week, i put chocolate on top they were delicious, will they freeze?
Jolie
These flapjacks are just as described they are everything and more. I live in a house of 7 people and let’s just say they all enjoyed them. I had to hide them to make them last as long as possible!
Michelle
Thanks for trying the recipe Jolie 😂😂😂!!
Denise
making my second batch in a week, i put chocolate on top they were delicious, will they freeze?
Michelle
Nice, I’m glad you’re enjoying the recipe. Yes, you can freeze them.
Ameena Ola
These were amazing! A tip to stop them from being crumbly, don’t eat them warm, you really need to let these set. Also, it helps to press them down as they cool, kind of helps them stick together. Second time making in the space of one week.
Michelle
Hi Ameena, thanks for commenting!
Mandy R
It was tasty but quite crumbly for me and lacking the promised gooey texture. Have I done something wrong?
Michelle
Hey Mandy, this could be down to a few things.
Oven temperatures vary, perhaps try reducing the bake time slightly.
If not done so already, compress the mixture down in the baking tin and allow the flapjack to cool down completely before cutting slices.
Lorna
My 15 yr old son made these for a back country snow shoe and camping expedition. A total winner with his group
Michelle
That’s amazing!
Claire
The first review I have left for a recipe. I had made these batch before and had forgotten where I found it, since then I have tried Mary Berry’s and had to throw it all away! So happy I’ve found this one again, it’s the best and so easy to do!!! Thank you xx
Michelle
Thanks for the comment Claire!