English Flapjacks

Have you ever had a recipe you kept around, but never really got around to trying?  That's the situation I was in when I spotted this recipe in my recipe box.  I always thought a flapjack was a pancake, and I thought it was weird how an "English Flapjack" is a dessert/snack oatmeal bar that's very common in England, so I decided to try it.  Besides the rolled oats, it definitely didn't seem like the healthiest thing in the world, but who can go wrong with lots of butter and sugar?  It seemed like a fun recipe worth trying...and I'm very glad I did!  I had never tasted anything like it before...it's chewy, sweet, buttery, and sooo delicious!!  It's one of my new favorite bars! And super duper easy to make.  I altered the saved recipe I had a lot based on the reviews, and the flapjacks turned out awesome!  You definitely HAVE to wait for it to cool completely to actually know what the real taste/texture is supposed to be like.  Even when just a little warm, the consistency is very different than what it should be.  I put my bars in the freezer for about 30 minutes after baking to speed up the cooling process, but the bars didn't reach the final consistency until about 2 hours later (I tasted it often, of course, and they were really really really tasty after each bite - even warm - but tasted best when completely cooled).  These are so yummy as a snack, breakfast, or dessert, and I can't wait to make them again with different variations (chocolate chips, cinnamon, nuts, cinnamon chips, butterscotch chips, dried fruit, etc)!  It's like an oatmeal cookie bar...but way better(:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tablespoons golden syrup or corn syrup
• 2 1/3 cups rolled oats
• 
  

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a saucepan over low heat, combine the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup. Cook, stirring occasionally, until butter and sugar have melted. Stir in the oats and raisins until coated. Pour into an 7 or 8 inch square baking pan. The mixture should be about 1 inch thick.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is just golden (they won't look "done" but do not over bake!  The bubbly/liquidy parts will harden when cooled). Cut into squares, then leave to cool completely before removing from the pan (at least 3 hours).