If there was one baked good I could consign to the depths of hell, it would be flapjacks. I hate flapjacks.

Seriously. There is nothing more depressing than chewing a mouthful of oats for what seems like an eternity. No matter how much chocolate, nuts or fruit you put in them, they are not interesting. They are dull. Whilst I think I should like them and occasionally try, only to spit the gooey oat shit out into my bin swiftly followed by the rest of the flapjack, they have no redeeming features. They look nice but I can’t get my head around them. They are just not enjoyable.

So if you have oats in your cupboard and think “YAS. Today I will make flapjacks” just stop. You can make something infinitely nicer than a flapjack. You can make date bars. Not a flapjack.

This is the best recipe I found for date bars. I doubled the vanilla extract in the date filling and didn’t bother to puree it as my dates were soft and the skins weren’t tough at all.  I found using a silicone tray tin the best for this as it meant I could cool it completely without the risk of sticking.

Is there anything that you hate as much as I hate flapjacks?  Or is there a flapjack in your life that you think could turn me?  I’d love to hear about it!