Flapjack (oat bar) facts for kids
Flapjacks with added currants
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| Type | Dessert bar |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Main ingredients | Rolled oats, butter, brown sugar, golden syrup/honey |
In the United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Ireland, and Newfoundland, a flapjack is a yummy baked treat. It's like a bar, cooked in a flat oven tray. Then it's cut into squares or rectangles. Flapjacks are made from rolled oats, fat (usually butter), brown sugar, and often golden syrup.
In other English-speaking countries, this same snack has different names. You might hear it called a muesli bar or cereal bar. Sometimes it's an oat bar or, in Australia, a slice. This snack is quite similar to a granola bar found in North America. But be careful! In the United States and most of Canada, the word flapjack usually means a pancake.
Contents
What Kinds of Flapjacks Are There?
You can bake flapjacks at home, which is fun! But they are also easy to find in shops. They come ready-packaged, often with extra tasty ingredients.
Popular Flapjack Flavors
Some flapjacks have yummy chocolate pieces mixed in. Others might have dried fruit, like glace cherries. You can also find them with nuts or even toffee bits. Sometimes they have a coating of yogurt or toffee.
Special Flapjack Types
In the United Kingdom, there's a special kind called a "Bakewell flapjack." Some flapjacks might even contain maple syrup for a different flavor. Flapjacks are often eaten instead of a biscuit (which is a cookie) or a cake.
Flapjack Textures
Flapjacks can be soft and moist, almost chewy. Or they can be dry and crisp, like a crunchy cookie. Traditional flapjacks have a lot of fat and calories. So, you can also find "diet" versions. These have less fat and fewer calories.
The History of the Word "Flapjack"
The word "flapjack" has been around for a very long time. The Oxford English Dictionary shows it was used as early as the 1500s! Back then, it seemed to mean a flat tart, which is a type of pie.
Shakespeare and Flapjacks
The famous writer William Shakespeare even mentioned "flap-jacks" in one of his plays. This was in Pericles, Prince of Tyre. He wrote:
- "Come, thou shant go home, and we'll have flesh for holidays, fish for fasting-days, and moreo'er puddings and flap-jacks, and thou shalt be welcome."
- Act II Scene I
This shows that flapjacks were a common English dessert in his time.
Modern Flapjacks
Later, "flapjack" was used for something like an apple flan. But it wasn't until 1935 that the word first described the oat-based snack we know today. In the UK, this newer meaning has mostly replaced the older recipes. Remember, in the United States and Canada, "flapjack" is still mostly used to mean a pancake.
See also
In Spanish: Flapjack (postre) para niños
