Slow Cooker Chocolate Flapjacks
Its that time of year again when, if you have young children like me, your kitchen fills up with chocolate eggs that just don’t seem to get eaten! My children lose interest after the first couple of Easter eggs, so we end up with them in the cupboards sometimes for months. This year I’ve decided to do something about this and use some of them up in a snack that will get eaten. These slow cooker chocolate flapjacks are the perfect way to use up your chocolate eggs or any other kind of chocolate really. They are great for after-school snacks and lunchboxes whether for adults or kids!
You can see a chocolate rabbit has made his way in there – check out his expression too! He looks a bit shocked to find himself in this situation I think! The rabbit was thrown in there along with some broken chocolate eggs and aero bubble balls. You can use whatever chocolate you like in there really.
The chocolate flapjacks themselves are made with cocoa powder, light brown sugar, butter and a little golden syrup to help it bind together. You need to make them and then let them stand for a couple of hours before slicing so they hold their shape. Then the mixture firms up as the butter/golden syrup coating hardens. That’s if the delicious chocolatey smell doesn’t get to you before then so you have to try a corner warm!
As usual I’ve made these in my slow cooker because I like slow cooker baking and the convenience of baking and not having to worry about it burning if I get waylaid or distracted by other jobs. When it works as well as this why would you not use your slow cooker really! It costs less too as running the slow cooker for a couple of hours only costs a couple of pence per hour, compared to 30 pence per hour to run an electric oven. Plus if it is a warm day then it won’t heat up your kitchen even more.
You could also make these in an oven instead if you prefer of course or if you don’t have a slow cooker. And if you don’t want to add all the extra chocolate on top the chocolate flapjacks taste great without as well.
Did you know you can make this kind of thing in your slow cooker? Would you try slow cooker chocolate flapjacks? I make all kinds of sweet and savoury bakes in mine, from brownies, blondies, chocolate shortbread, tea loaf, coconut and lime cake to giant cookies and delicious self-saucing puddings! Make sure you look through my Recipe Index, especially the Slow Cooker section to find all of these. There are also plenty of main meal slow cooker recipes suitable for families there too.
So if you are tempted to try baking in your slow cooker and love oaty bakes, then this could be the perfect recipe for you to try. Slow cooker baking does require you to know your slow cooker and how it cooks – some slow cookers can be really hot and not really “slow” at all, while some can be extra slow! So make sure you’ve used your slow cooker before and know if it burnt the food before the time was up or took a couple of extra hours to cook through. You’ll need to know this to get the timings right. There is such a difference in slow cookers that I give timings as a guideline only. You’ll have to check your bake regularly so you know how it is getting on. Take it out before it gets burnt! In the case of these slow cooker chocolate flapjacks only the edges start to feel baked, the centre remains quite soft due to the butter mixture you coat the oats in, which will firm up as it cools.
Slow Cooker Chocolate Flapjacks
Ingredients
- 250 g oats rolled
- 250 g unsalted butter
- 200 g light brown sugar I used muscovado
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- 4 tsp cocoa powder
- chocolate I used one large Easter egg shell, two small chocolate rabbits and a handful of Aero bubbles
Instructions
- Melt together the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan over low heat.
- In a large bowl, stir the cocoa powder into the oats.
- Once the butter, sugar and golden syrup is all melted together and smooth, pour it over the oats in the bowl and mix well until it is all combined.
- Line your slow cooker pot with a couple of layers of baking paper (one to lift the flapjacks out with, one to protect from burning). I used an oval 3.5 litre slow cooker for this recipe.
- Press the mixture into the pot, so it is an even depth and roughly smooth.
- Place a tea towel or some kitchen rolls squares under the lid to catch drips and put on the lid.
- Cook on high for two hours or until the edges have started to firm and the centre of the flapjacks bubble slightly.
- After two hours, put your broken up chocolate on top of the flapjack mixture and cook on high for another half an hour, so the chocolate melts in slightly.
- Remove from the pot using the baking paper edges to pull it out carefully, then place on a cooling rack and allow to cool and become firm for 2-3 hours.
- Once cool and firm, slice into 12 pieces.
Notes
Sending this recipe over to #WeShouldCocoa with Tin and Thyme
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I really need this, though I don’t have kids. I have some chocolate egg packets in my fridge that I can’t eat them any but maybe in a different style will be better. I’d like to try this at weekend xD