Date, pistachio and almond flapjacks

We all love flapjack in our family and it's one of those treats that you can knock up a batch of really quickly and easily. For years I have tended to use the same recipe which is just the basic oats, butter, syrup and sugar. However, after watching the fabulous Nigel Slater at Christmas, I was inspired to ring the changes and this is my take on his recipe for Festive Chocolate flapjacks.


Ingredients:

50g pistachios
60g dried, pitted dates
30g pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp ground almonds
50g butter
100g caster sugar
2 tbsps golden syrup
200g porridge oats
100g dark chocolate


1. Preheat the oven to 180 degs C/170 degs C fan/gas mark 4

2. Roughly chop the pistachios and dates then add to a food processor along with half the pumpkin seeds. Add the ground almonds and blitz together for just long enough to leave nice sizeable chunks of the fruit and nuts. Tip into a large mixing bowl with the rest of the whole pumpkin seeds.


3. In a pan, melt the butter with the sugar and syrup over a low heat.

4. Once melted, mix in the oats, and add to the fruit and nuts...

...then spread the mixture out evenly in an oven tray (mine was 25cm x 20cm and lined with baking parchment) and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

5. Leave to cool in the tin. When cold, turn the flapjack out and cut into squares, rectangles or triangles. The size depends on how big you want your pieces to be...I made about 16 squares.

6. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water...

...and dip the flapjacks in as far as you dare. Allow to chill in the fridge for 20 minutes so that the chocolate goes lovely and crisp.

7. Serve and enjoy!