Golden Syrup

Growing up, the best way to describe me was awkward. Really skinny, messy hair, metal braces with mini-springs to correct my bite (crossbites are just about as awkward as you can get, just FYI), and glasses. To top this off, my awkward phase didn't end in high school. Oh no, it extended well into my undergraduate years (minus the braces and glasses, thank goodness). In my second year of college, I got a part-time workstudy position, doing some web support. And that was where I got my first exposure to what I can only describe as British nonchalant cool. All this happened in the form of my office mate, Carrie. She was getting her masters in Art History, but prior to this she had worked in New York for Conde Nast. She was just about the coolest thing on the planet. And in addition to this, she was incredibly nice to boot. Some people are just so damn lucky. The department that I worked for often had shindigs that involved food, and during one particular event, Carrie made flapjacks. Nope, it's not what you're thinking (if you're American, that is). Flapjacks on the other side of the Atlantic are an oat-y, buttery, chewy cookie. Quite tasty (though, to be honest, have you ever known anything that was buttery and bad?). Since then, I have tried to find recipes for this treat. Unfortunately, all of the recipes I found required this thing called golden syrup. Some recipes suggested using corn syrup as an alternative, but typically my results from these recipes turned out pretty awful.

I forgot flapjacks for awhile. Until I got my latest issue of Bon Appetit. And lo behold, Molly Wizenburg, of Orangette and A Homemade Life fame wrote about flapjacks in her column! So, keeping to theme of this supercool post, I must give a shout-out to Molly. What a fantastic writer and cook! And because of Molly, I got thinking the following: well, Molly lives in Seattle. I live in Seattle. Molly made flapjacks with golden syrup. There has got to be someplace in Seattle where I can get my little hands on some golden syrup. And yes, indeed, Metropolitan Market has golden syrup! Listed below is the recipe that Molly used. Praise the Queen. Now, if I could only get my hands on some self-rising cake flour so that I can make some rock cakes, I'd say we were ready to have an Anglofest.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/4 cup golden syrup*
• 2 1/3 cups quick-cooking oats (not instant or old-fashioned)
• Pinch of salt

• * A type of syrup popular in Great Britain; available at some supermarkets, specialty foods stores, and British import shops.

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan. Combine first 3 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until butter melts, sugar dissolves, and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Add oats and salt; stir until coated. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and spread out in even layer.
• Bake until top is golden (edges will be darker), about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 5 minutes. Cut into 4 squares; cut each into 4 triangles (mixture will still be soft). Cool completely in pan before serving.

Enjoy! --Jean