British Flapjacks (Chewy Oat Bars)

Preheat oven to 350 F and spray an 8×8-inch non-stick square pan with non-stick cooking spray or coat it with butter.

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar, golden syrup and salt. Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture is bubbly. Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla. Add the oats and stir until all the oats are coated (at first it will seem like there isn’t enough liquid to coat all of them, but don’t worry, just keep stirring).

Press mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges just start to turn golden brown. Remove pan from oven and rest for 5 minutes before cutting into 16 squares or rectangles. Then cool completely in pan before serving (about an hour).

Notes:
Use a plastic knife to cut the flapjacks (they won’t stick to the plastic). The flapjacks will fall apart if you try to remove them from the pan before they are cool. If you prefer crunchy over chewy, simply bake for an additional 5-10 minutes. Recipe may also be baked in a mini muffin pan which will make little round puck shapes. Very cute and no cutting required.

Adapted from Bon Appetit.