British Flapjacks - Not to be confused with American Flapjacks! Oh, and some local wildflowers for this Spring...

Saturday mornings is not only my chance to catch a few extra winks of sleep-- it's a morning I set aside to make something special for breakfast.  Sometimes I like to whip up a quick batch of muffins, or homemade waffles.  Eggs are a favorite, too. Heck, Craig and I just enjoy our leisurely Saturday morning breakfast! In the March 2010 issue of Bon Appetit, Molly Weizenberg (of the very success blog "Orangette" and a recently published author, published this recipe.  I was definitely intrigued. My definition of Flapjacks, for all of my American life, has been pancakes. But these are different in the US...they are more of a bar cookie.  Molly's version of British Flapjacks requires an ingredient I had never heard of before-- Golden Syrup.  I filed this recipe in my "gotta try" part of my brain that reminded me to scout out this elusive ingredient. At last!  I found Lyle's Golden Syrup at my local World Market for less than $4.00.  Gripping my new treasure, I was ready to give this recipe a go.

Golden Syrup is made from Cane Sugar.  What is the bottle set in? It's my 8x8 pan, which I have lined with a parchment paper "sling".  I read the reviews from folks who made this recipe.  Several complained that they couldn't get the bars out of the pan. Problem solved...

You need a 1/4 cup of Golden Syrup.  TIP: Anytime I need to measure sticky syrups or honey, I wipe a little olive oil in the measuring cup-- it helps the syrup to slide right out.   If you cannot find Golden Syrup, some reviewers said that Maple Syrup worked great. But please-- no pancake syrup.  I never buy the stuff anymore-- don't get me started on the ingredients in there!  The rest of the ingredients are, unsalted butter, brown sugar, Quick Oats (big no-no on Old Fashioned Oats, Molly says) and a pinch of salt.  Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a pot, melt the butter, brown sugar and Golden Syrup (see how it slides right out...clever, eh?) until melted, stirring constantly.  Remove the pot from the heat, and add the oats and a pinch of kosher or sea salt.

Pour the mixture into the pan...

An off-set spatula makes flattening the mixture easy.  Bake for about 25 minutes...

The aroma will get anyone's attention... I'd check these at about 20 minutes.

I let these sit for about 5 minutes.  Using a bench scraper tool, made it easy work to cut these into fourths, then each fourth in half-- like a triangle.  Molly's version cut eat square into four small wedges.  I went for BIG! After cutting them, they sling lifted right out!

  I didn't let these cool completely. 

VERDICT:  These are definitely sweet and we really liked the chewy texture.  The balance of butter, nuttiness of the brown sugar and oats made us each go back for seconds. Craig took a few nibbles and commented that they remind him of something.  "Granola bars?", I suggested.  "That's it",he exclaimed  I have a really healthy version of granola that is a one of my family's favorite breakfast snacks that I make.  This version is a little naughtier because of the full stick of butter.  I brought my son two of these, and he devoured them.  These are super simple to make, and I will definitely try them again.  I would definitely want to add some dried fruit and maybe even almonds... for sure, I think cinnamon would raise the flavor bar on these just a little higher.  If you make these for your kids-- they might have a sugar rush going on for a bit.  Overall, I say "try these" if you like sweets. I think these are more of a dessert/snack than a breakfast item.

LOCAL WILDFLOWERS

Today, Craig and I drove about 90 minutes south of where we live, to the Lake Nacamiento (California) area.  The wildflowers were in full swing-- I wish I could share the fragrance of the purple lupines.  It was great to get away and enjoy a drive in the country.  I'll leave you with a few images of our day, and the printable recipe on the bottom of this post.

  Gotta love Spring!