Healthier Flapjacks with Honey and Dry Pomegranate Seeds
"Oh wow, we said bye to the summer already few days back, welcome autumn, also a favourite season of mine I have to admit so it is time for some nice comforting yet, healthy snacks that keep us full for longer and give us some really good nutrition and not soo many calories. I know that healthier flapjacks may sound a little unreal to you- what is a healthier flapjack, is there such a thing? Well, yes they do normally contain tonnes of butter, loads of sugar, ingredients that aren’t the best for you. These flapjacks are’t anything like that, they are packed with goodness, ideal energy boosters especially for kids who always walk out of school really hungry, us coming out of the gym feeling like we could eat a horse right there and then."
Notes* There are plenty of variations you could play with when it comes to flapjacks, you can use syrup and sugar, raisins, lemon or orange rind (or both), you can use muesli instead of oats, dry cherries or even glace cherries ( if you like them -I personally don’t but I know a lot of people do), instead of cranberries, and then go nuts or coconuts with loads of chopped walnuts, almonds, macadamia, cashew, hazelnuts or any seeds even ground flaxseed which has to be one of my favourite. There is no right nor wrong when it comes to flapjacks, agree? It really depends on individual taste and what is your sweet tooth threshold. Simply throw in all the flapjack related ingredients you love mix and match those exactly as you wish. Other bits that you could add can also be sultanas and chocolate drops or chips (mmm yumm).
* Careful when mixing/pulsing the ingredients so that they do not lose the texture.
* When it comes to honey, of course it is your call depending on how sweet you would like your flapjacks to be. I have mentioned the quantity in grams, remember, honey weights a lot more than water as it is a lot denser so I would say 180g honey would be approximately 125ml or 4 fl oz or 6 oz.
* My oven dish was exactly 27x27 cm and the bars came out to be around 1cm thick which is about the right thickness so that they do not crumble and fall apart.
* The pomegranate seeds, if you find them too hard, give them a good blend priorly to almost powder them as they can be a little tricky and hard for teeth.
* They are even better the next day and thereafter for as long as a couple of weeks if kept in an air tight container in the fridge. Beautiful, enjoy! Mine do last for few days and they make a beautiful after school or during work snack.
Serves16 squares
Preparation Time15 min
Chilling Time10 min
Cooking Time15 min
Ingredients
- 220 g jumbo rolled oats organic
- 170 g rye flakes organic
- 180 g honey *
- 100 g apple finely chopped
- 50 g desiccated coconut
- 45 g dry cranberries chopped
- 50 g pecan or walnuts toasted and chopped
- 70 g coconut oil plus extra to grease the oven dish
- 40 g sunflower seeds
- 100 g pomegranate seeds
Instruction
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Preheat the oven at 180C/fan or 200C/350F/Gas mark 4.
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Place all the dry/solid ingredients (jumbo rolled oats, rye flakes, desiccated coconut, dry cranberries, toasted nuts, coconut oil (if solid), sunflower seeds salt and turmeric powder if you chose to add it) in a food processor . Give it a few pulses until well mixed.
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Add the honey, the coconut oil (if liquid) and pulse a few more times until it has reached the desired texture/grain size.* I personally like the grains to be slightly bigger for extra chewiness.
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Lightly grease an approximately 27x27cm (11x11”) * oven proof dish and spoon in the flapjack mixture. With the back of a strong spoon, press and flatten the mixture uniformly. Use something more squarish like a knife for the corners to press the mixture down nicely.
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At his point you may also want to score it into 16, 20 or 25 squares or rectangles, however big or whatever shape you may like your flapjacks to be/look like.
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Place in the oven and bake for approximately 15-17 min until golden brown. Edges will get browner quick so lower temperature if this happens too quick - the whole idea is to dry this slightly not to brown it. When ready, take out of the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.