I'm a big fan of traditional snacks like flapjacks, however they don't fit very easily into a low-fat diet. Even WeightWatchers flapjacks use a hefty amount of butter and thus become treats rather than snacks. I decided to defat one of my old favourite recipes with the aid of Sandra Woodruff's "Secrets of Fat-Free Baking".
According to Sandra, you can successfully use light or half-fat butter for baking which is very good news for my hips and arteries. Due to the extra water contained in light and non-fat butter/margerine, you need to compensate by using three-quarters of the light product as compared to the full-fat product.
With much cynicism I decided to give this a try... and was pleasantly surprised! The aromas drifting from the kitchen during baking smelt entirely normal and when I finally tasted a slice it was as sweet, sticky and yummy as anyone could want (you can see sticky smudges on the plate from me repositioning the slices). The flavouring is bold in these flapjacks: bright and vibrant orange with a nice toasty flavour from the sesame seeds.
Interestingly, it seems that sesame seeds are pretty good for you. According to The World's Healthiest Foods they are stuffed full with minerals and vitamins:
Not only are sesame seeds a very good source of calcium, magnesium, copper and iron, they are also a good source of manganese, zinc, vitamin B6 and fiber. In addition to these important nutrients, sesame seeds contain two unique substances: sesamin and sesamolin. Both of these substances belong to a group of special beneficial fibers called lignans, and have been shown to have a cholesterol-lowering effect in humans, and to prevent high blood pressure and increase vitamin E supplies in animals. Sesamin has also been found to protect the liver from oxidative damage.
I suspect that I'll be adding more sesame seeds to my diet in the near future!
Orange and Sesame Flapjacks - adapted from WeightWatchers Pure Points
Makes 8
WW points: 4 per slice (or 7 if using real butter)
94g half-fat butter (or 125g butter)
125g demerara sugar
3 tablespoons golden syrup
finely grated zest of one orange
2tbsp sesame seeds
1tsp cinnamon
225g rolled oats (I used Quaker Porridge Oats)
Preheat the oven to 190C, Gas Mark 5. Line a 20x20cm square tin with baking parchment.
Put the butter, sugar and syrup in a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.
Place the zest, cinnamon, sesame seeds and oats into a medium bowl and stir to combine.
Pour the butter-sugar mixture over the oat mixture and mix thoroughly until all the oats are moistened.
Press evenly into the prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for five minutes before cutting into slices. Cool completely before eating.
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This long-lost comment has been restored from backup.
oh wow, what memories!
I haven't had flapjacks in the longest time! now I really want some! and this version looks and sound delish... I like the idea of adding orange and the sesame. must have smelt wonderful!
thanks for the recipe : )
1. Posted by Renee on November 19, 2007
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Flapjacks are great - it always amazes me that something so simple to prepare gives such great flavour. I'm still trying to think what nut/seed would go well with lemon zest (for some reason, its rather hard to buy just one orange in the shops just now so I'm using lots of lemons instead).
2. Posted by Angela on November 19, 2007