Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for fridge flapjacks

From theguardian.com

These moreish flapjacks are easy to make with store-cupboard ingredients, so tinker at will 

Recently, I’ve been toying with the idea of not cooking. By that I mean chopping and mixing my way to meals and snacks to give myself more time elsewhere. At this stage of my life (working mum to two young children), I see huge value in such dishes, because they allow me to make something homemade without buying expensive (or highly processed) foods. I wrote today’s recipe for flapjacks, which are set in the fridge, for my girls – and to use up leftover fruit and nuts from Christmas – and they went down a treat.

Fridge flapjacks

This recipe is flexible, so you can use whatever you have in the cupboard. That said, having made them multiple times, I’ve learned that coconut oil sets marginally better than vegan butter, and that no flapjacks, for me anyway, are complete without the sourness of dried berries, but tinker at will. You can use any baking tray, but a 20cm or 22cm square one gives good depth to the flapjacks.

Prep 15 min
Cook 10 min
Set 2 hr
Makes 16

200g porridge oats – not the jumbo ones
100g soft whole dates, pitted and very finely chopped
200g mixed dried fruit (berries, apricots, raisins), chopped to raisin-size pieces
200g mixed nuts or seeds (eg roasted almonds, cashews and walnuts), finely chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
A pinch of salt
150g brown rice syrup or golden syrup
120g coconut oil or vegan butter

Cut out a square of baking paper about 5cm larger than your baking tray and, using your hands, push it into the tray, pressing into the corners to line the inside.

Put the oats in a large heatproof bowl, add the dates, dried fruit, nuts, cinnamon, ginger and salt, and mix well.

In a small saucepan on a medium heat, heat the syrup and oil/butter until the mix bubbles fiercely, then pour over the oat mixture. Stir to combine, so that everything is well and evenly coated.

When the mixture is cool enough to handle, scrape it into the lined baking tray and, using your hands, push it down very firmly – the firmer it is, the better the end result. Leave to set in the fridge for at least a couple of hours, then cut into four rows lengthwise and width-wise to give you 16 squares. You can keep any uneaten flapjacks covered in the fridge for a week.

Meera Sodha’s fridge flapjacks. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay. Food assistant: Kristine Jakobsson

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/mar/04/vegan-fridge-flapjacks-recipe-meera-sodha