Flapjacks

Its Shahr Ramadhan!!! I absolutely LOVE this month. The atmosphere, the fasting and the spiritual bond between all the muslims around the world that is intensified.

Its amazing how much one can get done in a day in this month. I have heard so many people say that they manage to get so much more work done while fasting than they do when they're not. I think maybe its the burst of energy that we get when we fast.

It's indescribable.

The days have been flying by and I haven't even realised it!

Among the hundreds of things that I love about this month, one of them is waking for Suhoor. (The meal we eat before starting our fast- it's a lot like breakfast!!)

Ever since forever, every time we woke up before our morning prayer to eat our meal, I always used to have a strange feeling in me.

I think that at this very moment, thousands upon thousands of muslims dotted around the country are awake, preparing to start their day of fasting. I don't know why, but this feeling always gives me a sense of exuberance.

I must admit though, it is really difficult to actually eat properly at that hour. Especially eating something that is slow energy releasing.

Can I just say here that I really, really, REALLY don't like porridge.

I tried it once because of its 'wholesomeness' and almost gagged. I tried to make it more exciting by flavouring it with cinnamon and raisins but still no luck. At the end i just had to chop in some strawberries which was the only thing that helped me eat it.

All I can say is never again!!!

Anyway, my mum gave me an idea. She suggested that if I make flapjacks, I could snack on it and that way I would get filled up because of the oats.

I baked them. Last night at 1.30am :-)

I wasn't getting any sleep and I was kinda excited to bake after so long. I haven't baked much this month because we hardly eat anything at night after breaking our fasts.

I tried a new recipe out which turned out great. To get flapjacks that were chewy and soft, I made them quite thick and chunky. If you want them crispy, all you have to do is spread them out on a bigger oven dish and make it a thinner layer.

I added some dried coconut and chocolate chips to the ones that I baked last night, but you could add anything you want or just make them plain if you prefer.

The basic recipe:

7oz butter/margarine

7oz condensed milk

7oz sugar

14oz oats

(Optional)

Desiccated coconut

Ground almonds

Chocolate chips

Raisins

Dates

Ginger syrup

Method:

Preheat your oven to 170°c.

Melt the butter, sugar and condensed milk in a large pan. Once everything has dissolved, add the oats and any other of the optional ingredients that you want. I used about 4oz of the desiccated coconut and 150 grams of milk chocolate chips.

Grease a tray and line it with baking paper. Place the mixture into the tray and flatten it as best. (if you want individual ready cut pieces you can use cupcake cases)

Place it in the middle of the oven and cook. Because I made them quite thick, I left it in the oven for about half an hour until it was golden brown at the top.

If you are making them thin, leave them in the oven for just 20 minutes.

Enjoy folks :-)

-S