These 5 ingredient flap jacks are made in the microwave with store cupboard basics – and the ingredients it uses are easy to find/buy and to keep in the cupboard for when you need them.  Nothing “fresh” with a use by date!  Ideal.

It’ll be Easter soon, so I’ve dug out my trusty quick microwave flap jacks recipe as I do like to have something boxed up and ready to take out with me if the weather’s nice.  At least if I’ve taken a picnic lunch of my own I’ve got options on what I eat.

Ingredients: 

• 100g butter or margarine
• 25g caster sugar, or granulated
• 4 tablespoons golden syrup
• 200g oats, just plain oats, nothing fancy required, you can use budget varieties
• 150g of any mixture of chocolate, sultanas, nuts, fruit – whatever you’ve got or like!

Method:

As usual, I use a Pyrex jug for my microwave cooking – I find the handle very handy for gripping the dish and Pyrex glass is microwave safe.

1. Place the butter and sugar in the microwave dish and melt them together, this should take about 2 minutes.  Keep watching them through the window and stir every 15-20 seconds or so.
2. Add the golden syrup (I use the squirty bottles as I find these easier to measure out than from a tin), then toss in the oats – I actually “guess” the 4 tablespoons by eye, although you can weigh golden syrup. Give it all a good stir around, so it’s all well-blended.
3. Microwave the whole flapjack mix on high for about 3 minutes – as you watch it through the window it will grow in volume in the microwave (a 1 pint jug will contain it all).
   If you have any other ingredients you want to add to the flapjacks, then stir these into the mixture now.
4. Lightly grease a dish, or line it with greaseproof paper and spoon the hot flapjack mix into the dish.  You can melt chocolate and use that to top the flapjack now too if you wish.
5. Leave it to set, once it’s cooled you can put it in the fridge.  I find it sets best overnight.

Slice and serve!  You can wrap it in foil or clingfilm.  It’ll also freeze.

This will make a varying amount of pieces, depending how you slice/cut it and how deep you make it in your dish, but it’s certainly enough for 4-6 people as a snack.