Name: Chocolate flapjacks with pecans recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Serves: 12
Cuisine: Baking, British
Ingredients: 200g unsalted butter; 200g golden syrup; 150g dark chocolate, cut into chunks; 140g light soft brown sugar; 450g rolled oats; 80g pecans, roughly chopped

By Jessica Ransom

last updated 3 July 2023

in Recipes

Our chocolate flapjacks with pecans are a delicious flavour twist on the classic bake and they take under an hour to make.

Traditional flapjacks are great but for many sweet treats, the addition of chocolate can only improve a recipe. We also use pecans because we think the flavour pairing works well, especially with the light soft brown sugar which gives subtle caramel-like flavour. For an extra chocolate hit, consider adding chocolate chips to the mix in addition to melting it with butter and syrup.

Ingredients

200g unsalted butter
200g golden syrup
150g dark chocolate, cut into chunks
140g light soft brown sugar
450g rolled oats
80g pecans, roughly chopped

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Method

Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan, Gas 5). Line a 20cm x 20cm tin with baking parchment. Make sure there is a slight overhang on each side to make it easy to lift the flapjacks out of the tin.
Put the butter, golden syrup, chocolate and sugar into a saucepan and gently heat. Stir frequently until the butter and chocolate have melted, the sugar is dissolved and the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Meanwhile, put the oats and chopped pecans into a large bowl. Add a pinch of salt if you like.
Allow the butter mixture to cool slightly then add to the dry mixture and stir until everything is well coated.
Pour into the prepared tin and press down with the back of a spoon into an even layer.
Put in the oven and cook for 25 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin before slicing into 12 fingers to serve.

Top tips for making chocolate flapjacks

Chocolate flapjacks are a decadent treat that kids can help make if you want to do some baking together. For inspiration on how to upgrade the flavour of these flapjacks even more, read our tips below.

Can I put more chocolate in flapjacks?

Yes! If you want to make these chocolate flapjacks even richer and more indulgent, mix chocolate chips through the mixture in addition to the chocolate that is melted. You could also drizzle the flapjacks with melted chocolate once they have cooled. Put them in the fridge to set.

A combination of white and milk chocolate would be visually appealing and would taste nice too. This recipe also uses pecans for a boost in flavour but dried fruit such as raisins, sultanas, dried cherries or cranberries would all go well with the chocolate.

How can kids help make chocolate flapjacks?

Instead of cutting the chocolate into small chunks, you could let children break the pieces down with their hands. Once the butter, chocolate, syrup, and sugar mixture has melted and cooled slightly, they could help pour into the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon.

Children can also help level the mixture once it is in the tin with the back of a spoon. After the chocolate flapjacks are cooked, cooled, and cut into portions, children could help decorate the flapjacks with more chocolate, dried fruit, or chopped nuts and biscuits.

How do you stop flapjacks from going hard?

If you prefer a gooey texture to your flapjacks you could bake for 5 minutes less. However, keep in mind this might make them more difficult to cut as they will have a crumblier texture. It’s also best to eat the flapjacks when they are fresh to avoid them drying out and becoming harder.

In this recipe and all baking recipes, it’s important to weigh your ingredients accurately. Having a reliable set of kitchen scales is crucial for this. Food Writer Jessica Ransom uses the Heston Blumenthal Precision scales by Salter at home and would recommend them for the digital screen.

You could add some chocolate chips to our banana flapjacks if you enjoy the flavour combination of banana and chocolate. We’d recommend dark chocolate to keep the sugar count low. However, if you’d like a healthy flapjack recipe you should try our protein flapjacks which have 5.8g protein per portion and are packed with nuts and seeds.

Jessica is a freelance food writer, stylist and recipe tester. She previously worked as Senior Food Writer at Future. While at Future Jessica wrote food and drink-related news stories and features, curated product pages, reviewed equipment, and developed recipes that she then styled on food shoots. She is an enthusiastic, self-taught cook who adores eating out and sharing great food and drink with friends and family. She has completed the Level 1 Associate course at the Academy of Cheese and is continually building on her knowledge of beers, wines, and spirits.