Cranberry and White Chocolate Flapjacks

Sweet & Simple Bakes is a new blog from the lovely Maria and Rosie which is aimed at newbie bakers or experienced bakers who just love to bake. The blog will have a monthly challenge but does not require every month's challenge to be completed, just dip in and out as and when. If you haven’t already been to look please do, it is going to be an amazing site with lots of great tips and conversation going on; oh and there’ll be lots of lovely recipes too I’m sure.

I love a recipe challenge but sometimes it is nice to revisit some of the more simple recipes out there, but, it is something I often fail to do.  That’s the main reason I joined Sweet & Simple Bakes; I knew the monthly challenge would force me to get back to basics more often than I do now.

This months challenge was Cranberry and White Chocolate Flapjacks. I haven’t made flapjacks for years and I really don’t know why as I used to love them. They’re so simple and therapeutic to make, just a bit of weighing, heating and stirring before tipping into the tray and popping into the oven, awaiting the magical smell to come from the oven.  I never ever, put my extractor fan on for baking – why oh why get rid of those lovely homely scents?

Even before going in the oven though these looked divine, glistening and golden.

Cranberry and white chocolate is a match made in heaven, the overtly sweet alongside the shockingly sour is culinary magic. 

So how did I change the recipe?  I made two adaptations. The first – that I used jumbo oats instead of regular rolled oats as I much prefer the extra chewiness they give and slightly nuttier flavour.  Secondly – I used 200g fruit (cherries and cranberries) because 100g just didn’t seem enough.

As requested by my mum, I only drizzled half the tray with white chocolate.

Something about these sweet, chewy but slightly salty treats makes them so moreish that you can’t pass them with out grabbing and eating one.