Super simple to make and full of festive flavours these easy mincemeat flapjacks are buttery, fruity and simply irresistible. Mince pies in a flapjack form these will be your new Christmas time family favourite.
If you think flapjacks are not exciting enough to become festive treats, think again!
Those of you who are partial to chewy flapjacks and mince pies, I'm pretty sure you will not want to miss these Christmas mincemeat flapjacks.
All the festive flavours and more in this easy and delicious oaty traybake based on my apple flapjacks recipe. They are simply perfect with a cup of tea during festive period (and beyond). Or served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for super simple dessert. Are you feeling it yet?
Leftover mincemeat will be a thing of the past with these delicious mincemeat flapjacks.
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Perfect snack to keep you going during hectic festive season.
- Chewy, buttery, fruity, gently spiced, these flapjacks have it all.
- Great way to use up any leftover mincemeat.
- Easy to adapt for different diets, easily made dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free and vegan.
- Lovely treat to serve at Christmas get togethers, parties and buffets.
- All the mince pie flavours without the hassle of making mince pies.
- Freezer friendly.
📝 Ingredients and substitutes
Here's what you will need to make my Christmas Mincemeat Flapjacks:
Porridge Oats - I highly recommend you use porridge oats or fine type of rolled oats (names differ depending on where you are in the world). They will give you best result and flapjacks will hold together better thanks to the finer oats.
Jumbo (old-fashioned) oats are great to add some texture but when it comes to most flapjacks and especially the types of flapjacks with extra mix-ins I would not recommend them.
***Quick Tip*** If you need for these flapjacks to be gluten-free make sure to use gluten-free certified oats as not all of them are.
Mincemeat - Use your favourite shop bought or homemade if you've made some.
Golden Syrup - In the UK flapjacks are synonymous with golden syrup although feel free to substitute it with honey or agave syrup. I wouldn't use maple syrup due to its thinner consistency.
Brown Sugar - I use light brown sugar.
Butter or Plant Block Butter - I use Salted Flora Plant but feel free to use any butter you like - dairy, plant, salted or unsalted. Personally, I think salted butter gives that extra flavour in otherwise sweet flapjacks.
Clementines - I tend to have lots of clementines around in December and so I've included some zest in my flapjacks. You can of course use oranges or satsumas instead.
Almond Flakes & Walnuts - For a little bit of crunch. Feel free to skip them if you're after nut-free flapjacks or swap them for other nuts of your choice.
Mixed Spice - Extra festive flavour but feel free to skip it or swap for some cinnamon instead.
🔪 Instructions
Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/ 350°F/ gas mark 4/) and line 20cm/8inch square baking tin with some baking paper overlapping on two sides for easy flapjacks removal later.
Put butter, sugar and golden syrup into a large saucepan and heat up gently on a low heat, stirring until they melt together and you get a uniform mixture. Set aside.
***Quick Tip*** Make sure you heat the mixture up gently and slowly and don't let it come to boil as this will result in hard flapjacks.
Add zest of two clementines together with mixed spice and stir them in to incorporate.
To the saucepan with melted butter/sugar/golden syrup mixture add the oats and nuts (if using) and give it all a good mix.
Next, add the mincemeat and stir it in until incorporated.
Transfer the mixture into prepared baking tin and press down firmly and evenly either with the palm of your hand or back of the spoon.
Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown but still soft to the touch. Flapjacks will firm up more as they cool down.
Once out of the oven, you can very gently score flapjack portions for easier cutting once cool. Scoring should be only gentle and not all the way through.
Let mincemeat flapjacks cool completely in a tin before taking out and slicing into portions to prevent them from falling apart.
Enjoy!
🥡 Storing
Store: Mincemeat flapjacks will keep in the airtight container for up to 5 days.
Freeze: They also freeze really well for up to 3 months.
I would suggest you freeze them in portions in freezer safe containers or bags, separated with some baking paper so that they don't stick together.
Defrost: Take them out of the freezer and defrost on the kitchen counter (they won't take long, about an hour) or overnight in the fridge.
💭 Pro tips
For chewy flapjacks that are not as prone to falling apart use finer, porridge style oats.
Make sure to line your baking tin even if it's super non-stick. You will make your life so much easier when it comes to removing your flapjacks plus you can be certain they won't indeed stick.
Don't overbake your apple flapjacks (unless you prefer them crunchy). They should be on the soft side as you take them out of the oven.
Even though I suggest you score the warm flapjacks gently to make it easier to cut them later, DO NOT attempt to remove them from the tin and cut them fully when warm as they will fall apart. Wait for them to cool completely before you do that.
If you are really, REALLY impatient, you can always put them in the fridge to speed up the process.
Do bear in mind that mincemeat does make these mince pie flapjacks a bit more fragile even when cool.
❓ FAQ
Mincemeat flapjacks are a bit more fragile due to a lot of added mix-ins but they shouldn't be falling apart. If they are there are few possible reasons:
1. Perhaps you cut them too soon and when they were still warm?
2. Did you use suggested type of oats e.g. porridge oats? Bigger, less processed oats will make flapjacks more fragile.
2. Your butter/sugar/syrup mixture wasn't properly melted.
3. You didn't press the mixture down in the tin firm enough and have left some air pockets.
To ensure they're vegan make sure to use plant based/vegan butter and mincemeat without or with vegetable suet.
Have you tried my Easy Mincemeat Flapjacks recipe?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below and share your views or tips in the comments.
😋 More festive treats you might like
Vegan Gingerbread Cake (Traybake)
Easy Chocolate Gingerbread Biscuits
Dark Chocolate Cranberry Chestnut Cookies
📋 Recipe
Easy Mincemeat Flapjacks
Ingredients
- 300 g porridge oats or finer type rolled oats
- 200 g mincemeat
- 175 g dairy or plant butter salted or unsalted
- 150 g light brown sugar
- 50 g golden syrup or honey
- zest of 2 clementines or 1 orange optional
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice or cinnamon optional
- 50 g chopped walnuts optional
- 50 g almond flakes optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/ 350°F/ gas mark 4/) and line 20cm/8inch square baking tin with some baking paper overlapping on two sides for easy flapjacks removal later.
- Put butter, sugar and golden syrup into a large saucepan and heat up gently on a low heat, stirring until they melt together and you get a uniform mixture. Set aside.***Quick Tip*** Make sure you heat the mixture up gently and slowly and don't let it come to boil as this will result in hard flapjacks.175 g dairy or plant butter, 150 g light brown sugar, 50 g golden syrup
- Add zest of two clementines together with mixed spice and stir them in to incorporate.zest of 2 clementines or 1 orange, 1 teaspoon mixed spice or cinnamon
- To the saucepan with melted butter/sugar/golden syrup mixture add the oats and nuts (if using) and give it all a good mix.300 g porridge oats, 50 g chopped walnuts, 50 g almond flakes
- Next, add the mincemeat and stir it in until incorporated.200 g mincemeat
- Transfer the mixture into prepared baking tin and press down firmly and evenly either with the palm of your hand or back of the spoon. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown but still soft to the touch. Flapjacks will firm up more as they cool down.
- Once out of the oven, you can very gently score flapjack portions for easier cutting once cool. Scoring should be only gentle and not all the way through.Let mincemeat flapjacks cool completely in a tin before taking out and slicing into portions to prevent them from falling apart. Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per serving based on 16 servings and will differ depending on the mincemeat and other mix-ins used so it should be treated as a rough guideline only.
- See 📝 Ingredients and substitutes for more info on any particular ingredients used.
- Store in the airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
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