I made air fryer flapjacks ‘healthy’ with an extra ingredient – just 1 thing missing

When it comes to any form of baking, I’ve never really been the best, but it is something I do enjoy attempting, so when I found a new flapjack recipe, I just had to give it a go. After purchasing Louise Kenney’s recipe book , I gave it a flick through and stumbled on one rather unique-sounding recipe for parsnip flapjacks.

While I do like both flapjacks and parsnips, it had never even crossed my mind to combine the two, although clearly, the thought had come to Louise – and thank god it did. The result maybe didn’t look the most appetizing (do flapjacks ever?) but it was certainly delicious.

There was just one problem with the recipe, or perhaps my kitchen appliances, as I do not own an electric grater. It took me about an hour to get the parsnip completely grated, but once this was done, the rest of the steps were super low effort.

The only other problem I faced was that I have a rather small air fryer, but this was easily solvable by baking the flapjacks in batches rather than all at once like the recipe calls for.

For the chocolate and nut butter topping rather than cook on the stove I just put the dark chocolate and almond butter in the microwave for a minute, meaning even this step was rather low maintenance.

All in all, the flapjacks were delicious, and I’ll certainly be making them again – but I may purchase an electric grater beforehand to save some time.

Parsnips flapjacks (makes eight)

Ingredients:

100g of parsnip, peeled and finely grated

125g of porridge oats

1/2 tsp of ground ginger

One tsp of ground cinnamon

One tbsp of ground flaxseed

A pinch of salt

Two tbsp sunflower oil

120g of golden syrup

Two tsp of vanilla extract

One tbsp crunch hazelnut or almond butter

For the topping:

50g of dark chocolate broken into pieces

One tbsp crunch hazelnut or almond butter

Method

Start by preheating your air fryer to 180°C and line the baking tin/air fryer basket with baking parchment.

Then, in a mixing bowl, combine the grated parsnip, oats, ginger, cinnamon, flaxseed, and salt. In a second bowl, mix the oil, syrup, vanilla, and nut butter until it reaches a gloopy texture. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix until they are well combined.

Pour the mixture into your baking tin and flatten down. Air fryer for 20 minutes or until golden on top and set.

Meanwhile, make the topping by putting the chocolate pieces and nut butter in a heatproof bowl over simmering water until just melted, then set aside. Alternatively you can put the chocolate and nut butter in the microwave for 30-second bursts, mixing well each time.

When the flapjack has finished cooking, remove it from the air fryer and cut it into bars while still warm. Drizzle over the chocolate and nut topping – enjoy.