Delicious, chewy oat bars that are packed full of coconut, ginger and chocolate – the perfect snack bar, and great for lunch boxes. Easy to make, with every day ingredients – the whole family will love them
It’s that time of year – summer is ending, autumn is getting so close you can smell the pumpkin spice and kids are heading back to school! I love summer for all it’s wonderful flavours, all my favourite fruits are in season and tasting amazing, plus it’s the perfect time to enjoy a refreshing cocktail or Pimms cup n the garden. But autumn is definitely my favourite time of year, the weather isn’t great in the UK usually – we just have a lot of rain – but it’s cool out during Autumn and that makes me happy, even if it is wet too! It’s such a cozy time too; snuggly sweaters, hot drinks and warm spices – is there anything more comforting than Autumn?
Love coconut? Try these Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes!
These Coconut, Ginger and Chocolate Oat Bars are the perfect snack to transition into Autumn – they’re thick, chewy and comforting with all that ginger, but they’re also full of coconut goodness – letting summer live on just a little bit longer. Here in the UK we call these bars “flapjacks”, which are obviously very different to what the US refer to as flapjacks, pancakes! But oat bars works too, basically they’re like ooey, gooey granola bars – whatever you want to call them though, they’re absolutely delicious and so easy to make! In fact, making flapjacks is one of the first baking memories I have – a lot of the mixture would never make the baking pan, not much has changed since then!
Like a traditional British flapjack, these oat bars are made using golden syrup. It’s definitely worth using if you can get your hands on it, but I know it’s not easy or cheap to come by in the U.S. so you can make it with brown sugar to get the caramel-y taste and corn syrup or honey for the gooey texture – I’ll give more detailed substitution instructions in the recipe! However you make them though, these are so simple and quick to make. It’s all done in one big saucepan, before being baked in a brownie pan or deep baking dish! If you use certified gluten free oats, they’re also gluten free – and swap the butter for dairy free butter, and you have a vegan treat too! The whole family will enjoy these, and with how easy they are to make I’m willing to bet they’ll make a regular appearance in your kitchen!
- 100g unsalted butter
- 800g golden syrup
- 525g oats
- 170g desiccated coconut
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 250g semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 175g crystalized ginger, roughly chopped
- Preheat over to 180C/350F. Line a 9x13" brownie pan or deep baking dish with parchment paper.
- Add the butter and syrup to a large saucepan, heat gently until butter melts.
- Stir in oats, coconut, ground ginger, orange zest and salt, fully combine -
- Turn off heat and add crystalized ginger and chocolate chips (keep a handful aside to sprinkle on top if desired), stir to combine.
- Spoon mixture into prepared pan, level and use the back of a spoon to press mixture down so it's tightly packed. If desired, sprinkle some chocolate chips on top.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden around the edges.
- Leave to cool in the pan, score into 12 large pieces or 24 small pieces while still warm and then leave to cool completely.
- Turn out and cut into squares
- Flapjacks/Oat bars will keep in an airtight container for 1 week.
- The chocolate chips will melt when you stir them into the hot mixture, set some aside to sprinkle on top if you'd like some chocolate chunks in each bite!
- Replace golden syrup with 175g Brown Sugar and 5 tbsp honey or corn syrup. Add butter, brown sugar and honey/syrup to your large saucepan and heat until butter and sugar have melted. Proceed with rest of recipe as stated.
As you can see, these babies are not a dainty little snack – they’re thick and chunky, and proud of it! I cut these into 12 squares for a monster snack, however we did end up cutting them in half so 24 smaller squares are probably the better option! I love these oat bars because they’re sweet enough to be dessert but also full of oaty goodness so make a great lunchbox snack, they’ll definitely get the kids back in school mode after the long summer break. Although I won’t judge if you keep them all to yourself, to enjoy with a cup of coffee and your restored peace and quiet!
You may or may not have noticed that I’ve been a bit absent from the blog lately, it’s been almost a month since my last recipe! Sometimes life just gets in the way and you have to take a step back, I missed you guys though and decided to cut my mini hiatus short. New recipes might be a bit sporadic while I get back into the swing of things, and while I adjust to some changes in my life (I got a new job!), so I hope you’ll forgive me for that! I’d love to hear about what you’ve been up to while I’ve been away, what have I missed?!
I really do hope you give these Coconut, Ginger and Chocolate Oat Bars a go – I think you’re going to love them! It was the perfect recipe for me to return with; simple, wholesome and so darn good! They’re totally customisable too, which is my favourite kind of recipe, don’t like ginger? No problem -just replace with something you do like, dried mango and ground cinnamon sounds like the perfect replacement, don’t you think? Your oat bars, your rules!
If you do try out this recipe, Iβd love to hear how you got on β either comment below, or tag me in photos @GiraffesCanBake on twitter, instagram and facebook!
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Sharing with…
Create It Thursday, Fiesta Friday with Effie and Steffi, Foodie FriDIY, Saucy Saturdays
Wow, all the ingredients I love and with Golden syrup in the mix, this must be a winner. Yummm
Thank you Loretta!! π
These look great – I do love a good flapjack! And the flavors in here sound just my kind of thing. Yum!
Thank you Caroline π
My husband loves flapjacks, so I’ll definitely have to give these a try!! And wow, awesome pics girl π
Flapjacks are the best, I hope he likes these!
Thank you Amanda π
So ready for autumn and these are the perfect welcome!
Me too Johanne! Thank you! π
It’s good to see you and your baking back, and such a tempting recipe too. I have had flapjacks before but never made them myself – it’s time I gave them a go. Good luck with your new job, and hope you enjoy it.
Thank you Hilda π Flapjacks are definitely worth giving a go, so yummy for so little effort!
What a lovely combinations of flavours! And they look so pretty, Michelle! Thanks so much for sharing them with FF#84
Thank you so much! π
I have never tried flapjacks before but I have all these ingredients on hand.. so I definitely am inspired to make them. They look like the ultimate sweet snacks!
They’re such a fun and easy snack to make, I hope you like them! Thanks for your kind comments π
Whoa baby! Those bars are packing some HEAT!
π Thanks!!
These look amazing! I love coconut, ginger, and chocolate, so I’m gonna love these flapjacks!
Thank you Marsha π
Your flapjacks look delicious, I love the sound of ginger & coconut, yum π
π Thank you!
You’re Back!! π This looks amazing Michelle! I love the flavors here too! I definitely need to try them, because I love Oatmeal bars! I have missed your blog posts! π
I am!! Thank you Dini π
Glad to see you are back with a vengeance! I have missed you! Never heard of a flap jack that wasn’t a pancake?!?! Must try these! Thanks for sharing with Saucy Saturdays!
Hehe thank you!
It wasn’t until recently I realised flapjacks are something entirely different in the US haha
wow this looks so perfect, I love the coconut the oats and the chocolate, and the ginger is such a creative and nice addition. These look fabulous!
π Thank you so much!