Dark Chocolate & Peanut Butter Flappy J's

As my new apron will inform you, I make the very best flappy j's (flapjacks)....I've experimented with the same good-old Be-Ro recipe for a few years and added things, modified it, tried less sweetener, no butter etc. and my most recent variation is dark chocolate and peanut butter.

I know I said I wasn't baking this month as I was on a diet (note the use of past tense) but, I am me, and therefore unable to stick to any diet of any type that does not incorporate baked goods. And with all the snow today I spotted the hahstag #EatForSnow on my Twitter feed whilst lounging in my bed around mid-day (I'm housebound because my Mini doesn't like snow) I figured it was a pretty understandable feeling to have in this cold weather and off I went down the stairs to do some baking.

There's not much I can resist more than peanut butter. I've revolted housemates in the past by settling down in front of the TV with a big jar and a spoon, yes, it's really that good. Throw in some dark chocolate and you're guaranteed a winner. 

Together the flavours were wonderful - the dark chocolate has a bittersweet edge to it which compliments the salty nutty-ness of the peanut butter. The blocks I cut were a little crumbly, but if there's anything I've learnt from my flappy j adventures, it's that the texture varies and soft and crumbly is a winner.

I've decided to do a picture recipe so if you're following it, then you know it looks right....well, that's the logic I follow!

Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter Flapjacks

50g crunchy peanut butter

50g butter

50g demerara sugar

2 tbsp golden syrup

125g porridge oats

25g wholemeal plain flour

roughly 250g dark chocolate

1) Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line an 8" square tin - I didn't and it was messy.

2) Melt the two butters, sugar and golden syrup over a low heat until dissolved.

3) Break the chocolate into rough chunks - I opted for a unique and rather aggressive method.

4) Add your dry ingredients to the melted fats and combine well.

5) Press into the tin and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Flappy J's masqueraded as health food

As I have 10 days till I leave the chilly UK and fly to Australia, where I assume I will be wearing slightly fewer layers of clothing, I've been trying (and failing) to be healthier in my diet.  And in-line with this, I have given my flappy j's a makeover of sorts to try and justify enjoying the odd 4 as a snack, every day, twice a day.

The prunes and cheeky agave nectar in the bars make them super sweet but in a feels-good-for-you-sort-of-way, thanks very much.  They're the sort of thing you'd find in the healthy bit of a good supermarket!  But they are a bit crumbly, they did harden when I let them cool though, I'm just impatient and want to try things straight away.

I have spent some time googling 'low sugar flapjacks' instead of writing my literature review today, and the recipe I tried came from here, Delicious Magazine's website.  I didn't bother weighing anything I used but here is a vague idea of what I did to create these little beauties.

5oz some variety of spread
maybe 150g prunes (I didn't have any dates)
probably 2 tbsp apple juice
large squeeze of agave nectar
lots of oats, pour them in until it looks like there are enough
some seeds etc
mixed nuts chopped up

- grease and line a 7" square tray and preheat the oven to 180 degrees

1) melt the butter and agave nectar together
2) whizz the prunes and apple juice in a food processor - check the prunes have had their stones removed before you whizz them because the processor doesn't like it, I'm vague about whether mine had stones in or not
3) mix everything together and press into the tin
4) bake for 20 minutes until not burnt.

p.s. suggestions for a better name, somehow including 'flappy' are welcome