Healthy Fruit & Nut Flapjacks
There’s something about the new academic year that urges some kind of resolution-making. I always struggle to keep new rules but, come September and adapting to our first week of fresh routine, change has been welcome – in the form of these breakfast flapjacks.
As I was toasting the weekly batch of our favourite healthy Maple Granola, I thought about using the oats, seeds, nuts and fruits and converting them into Flapjacks.
We’re addicted to this granola – once you start making it, there’s no turning back to the commercial packeted cereals – and love serving it with yoghurt, fresh fruit or compote, so flapjacks seemed like a lovely change.
Reduced Sugar
My fond memories of flapjacks, however flopped when I made an old family recipe which used the classic golden syrup and a whopping amount of sugar on top of that. It was simply FAR too sweet.
If you know me by now – even with 2 patisserie recipe books! – I don’t have that much of a sweet tooth. It sounds bizarre, I know, but that’s why I love French patisserie so much: the irony is that the best pastries in Paris are not that sweet. There’s also a rise of gluten-free and healthy pastry boutiques that specialise in cutting down on sugar (see my article on Foucade, Paris).
Honey, Honey
So my answer is this healthier version of flapjacks (or granola bars) which are naturally sweetened with just honey and dried fruits in place of the traditional sugar and syrup. We’ve tried and tested them and this recipe received the thumbs up from the girls.
However, I shall leave YOU to judge them for yourself: would you add extra sugar to them or not? If you do feel they need more sugar, then I dare you make some change too and start cutting down on unnecessary sugar this year. That’s another change: I’ve become a bit cheeky after the holidays…
These will be perfect for our bike rides. Thank you. Like you I’m not keen on anything too sweet, so I don’t imagine I’ll be adding any sugar. I’ve been busy drying plums from the orchard so I’ll add some of them.
So pleased that you think the same way on the sugar, Jacqui. Orchard plums? Magic. Am so impressed seeing all of your bike rides and what you cover. What a trooper!
I’ll try this next week. Looks so good !
Great – thanks Marie-Christine x
We have granola every morning so thanks for the recipe. Dad is a dab hand now. We even took some to the Lakes. Best with fresh rasps and blueberries. Great start to each day.
Well I do hope you make these flapjacks, Mum! It will be a delicious change and you can still take them to the Lakes …
As much as I do like sweets and even sweeties, I too, can’t take anything that’s cloyingly sweet, especially if there’s really no need for extra sugar when honey will do. I’d make these flapjacks exactly as the recipe is written.
I made a British recipe the other day and thought I should cut down the sugar, but the crazy thing was, it ended up not being sweet enough! I usually do leave the sugar alone on British recipes, but 99% of the time, I cut down on the sugar from US recipes (or omit it completely in dishes that just don’t need it)! (Like pickled beets!)
We’re so similar Christina. I systematically cut down sugar in recipes but that’s why I love testing since sometimes it needs a bit more, a bit less.
With just the right amount of sugar, we can even taste the other ingredients better too.
very true!