Mumsnet Talk

I'm quite useless at baking but I can just about make flapjacks. Problem is, even homemade, I think they're really unhealthy. The have all that golden syrup and butter. To me they taste far too sweet and buttery. However I feel that if I start tampering with the quantities, I'll make a right mess.

I'd like them to be less sweet, less buttery, wouldn't mind adding nuts and or raisins but no other ingredients. Would you mind sharing your 'healthy' and foolproof recipes with me please?

Truthfully, if you don't put enough butter or golden syrup in, they just crumble when you try to eat them bitter voice of experience

The closest I've found is this recipe but haven't tried it, I always forget about it and just make my normal ones

I don't know about "healthy", but this is the recipe I always use (from an ancient Bero cookbook!)

1. Melt 4oz marg with 1 tsp syrup but don't overheat
2. Mix in a bowl, 4oz sugar, 20z oats, 2oz SR flour and 3oz crushed cornflakes
3. Pour the marg mix into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly
4. Place in a well greased swiss roll tin and bake at 190/gas 5 for 15-20mins until just firm
5. Cut into fingers whilst hot and leave in tin to cool.

I sometimes add a handful of raisins to the dry mix and have substituted the cornflakes with other cereal - such as cheerios.

They are absolutely yummy and never last long in this house!

ME I know the answer to a good housekeeping question. I've only ever lurked enviously on here but you have made me soooo happy. Look up banana and date flapjack recipe in the mumsnet recipe section some far cleverer mumsnetter than me posted this genius recipe which has no added sugar so MUST be healthy. My kids do prefer the ordinary flapjacks but will eat this.

Well, banana won't work in this household, being the fruit of the devil and all that...

I make the Nigella breakfast bars, with condensed milk. I worked out all the ingredients and in terms of sugar no worse than a bowl of porridge with fruit and honey (or so I tell myself)

<<shoves everyone aside>>

Flapjacks? Did someone mention flapjacks?

250g porridge oats (the cheap type, not large ones),
150g Butter,
2 generous tablespoons (75g) Golden Syrup
half a tin condensed milk

baking tin, no bigger than about 18cm x 28cm

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees c
2. Line the baking tin with baking parchment.
3. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the syrup. Keep gently heating and stirring until all is melted and mixed.
4. Add the condensed milk and mix. Bring to the boil for about a minute. If I'm honest, I just bung the milk in at step 3.
5. Remove from the heat and gradually add the oats, folding them in. All the oats should be coated, and the mixture quite dense, but still sticky. Don't add so many oats that the mixture becomes dry.
6. Pour the mixture into the tins and spread about so that it lines the tin to a depth of 2-3cm. Don't squash the mixture in, just spread it evenly.
7. Bake in the oven for about 15mins. You should take them out when they just start to go brown round the edges, don't leave longer than this. If they're still squidgy in the middle that's fine, they set on cooling.

I've substituted honey for the syrup before and added seeds etc, reducing the amount of oats to balance the total.

Healthy? Meh.

These are fab. But healthy? Probably not so much.

Thank you for sharing the cornflakes one, I remember that from my childhood! It isn't in my Bero book so I'm looking forward to trying it again.