Mincemeat Flapjacks

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Mincemeat flapjacks are easy to make, sticky and filled with festive flavour. This a great recipe for leftover mincemeat, or when you are bored of mince pies.

*This post may contain affiliate links to products I find useful when making this recipe. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.*

I don’t like mince pies. Well, I don’t hate them, but I’ll have one and I’m good for a year. I find them a bit boring.

I prefer my mincemeat in other things, like my mincemeat Chelsea buns that I love, and these mincemeat flapjacks.

A dollop of mincemeat in a bit of pastry is just a bit dull. Add some sticky oats and it’s a much better treat for the festive season.

This recipe is pretty much just the same as my jammy flapjacks but with a nice thick layer of mincemeat in the middle instead of jam.

slice of mincemeat flapjack on a blue and white patterned plate. Rest of flapjack sliced on chopping board with silver cake slice.

Ingredients for Christmas Mincemeat Flapjacks

All you need to make these chewy Xmas flapjacks is:

Oats

Soft Light Brown Sugar

Golden Syrup

Butter – or margarine

Mincemeat – Not too much! I have a habit of putting way too much in. There’s too much moisture, so you end up with a soggy flapjack that falls apart. A thin layer is enough!

You can get the full quantities and instructions for how to make mincemeat flapjacks in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, and watch the video below for more tips.

Which Mincemeat is Best for Flapjacks?

You can make your own mincemeat, but I don’t like it enough to do this.

Store-bought mincemeat is perfect to make easy flapjacks, so just get one that you like.

Are These Flapjacks Soft or Crisp?

I like a soft and chewy flapjack. For me, this is a Chewy flapjack recipe.

I like a mincemeat flapjack soft and chewy, and just ever so slightly crisp at the edges.

But if you prefer a firmer flapjack, leave them in the oven for 5 minutes extra.

close up of flapjack on chopping board with silver cake slice.

When my flapjacks are cool, I remove them from the tray, and then use a chopping board to flip them over without them breaking, so that I can peel off the paper (you can see me doing this in the video below).

If when you peel the paper away, the centre of the bottom (now the top) looks quite moist, it’s just from the moisture in the mincemeat. I’d recommend popping them back in the oven, this side up, just for a few minutes until it looks drier and golden.

What You Need to Make Mincemeat Flapjacks

I use a small saucepan to melt my butter, sugar, and syrup, and then a deepish baking tin or baking tray to bake up mincemeat flapjacks.

I use either my square cake tin, which is 8” use a brownie tin which is 10” by 8” with some reusable baking paper (all affiliate links). In the brownie tin, flapjacks will be thinner, and so might need cooking for a little less time.

If your tin is smaller, your flapjacks will be deeper, so bake your Christmas flapjack for a little longer.

Different Ways to Use Mincemeat

As I say, mince pies aren’t really my thing, but I do like mincemeat in other things. Some of my favourite recipes, as well as this mincemeat flapjack recipe, include:

How Many Flapjacks Does This Recipe Make?

It depends on how big your tin is, and whether you cut them into big Mincemeat flapjack slices or smaller Mincemeat flapjack squares.

I generally favour a slice, so this recipe makes around 8 fairly big slices. You could easily get 16 decent size squares, or thinner slices out of the recipe though.

Are These Flapjacks Vegan?

This is a fairly traditional flapjack recipe, so there are no crazy ingredients. As long as you use margarine and not butter, and your mincemeat is suitable for vegans, they are vegan mincemeat flapjacks.

Why Do My Flapjacks Always Fall Apart?

Flapjacks are an oaty treat, which means they’ll always be a little crumbly, and a bit of falling apart is fairly normal, especially if you prefer them crispy and bake them for a little longer.

If your flapjacks are falling apart so much you can’t slice, or hold, them, or they are soft and chewy and still falling apart a lot, it might be that you aren’t pressing them into the baking tin enough before baking, there’s not enough butter, or they are still warm when you are trying to slice them.

In this recipe, it might also mean you’ve used too much mincemeat. I’m always tempted to put loads in, but it is very moist, and can lead to a very heavy, soggy flapjack. A fairly thin layer is best.

Why is My Flapjack Not Chewy?

If your flapjacks aren’t chewy, they might have been baked for too long. You might also want to try adding a little more butter or golden syrup.

Another possible reason for your flapjacks being too hard is that you’ve overheated the butter, syrup and sugar mixture. You want it to be warm, and all melted together, but you shouldn’t let it come to a boil.

Melt slowly and remove from the heat as soon as the butter has melted.

Is a Flapjack Healthy?

No.

Flapjacks aren’t the unhealthiest things in the world. But there’s a lot of sugar, so they aren’t great.

Which Oats Should be Used for Flapjacks?

There are a lot of different oats. Jumbo, rolled, porridge, and more!

Most of the oats that we buy as porridge oats in the UK are rolled oats. These are also known as old-fashioned oats.

I use regular porridge oats when I make mincemeat flapjacks. Using different kinds will give you a different texture, but to be honest I’d just use what you’ve got.

How Long Do Flapjacks Keep?

The beauty of soft and chewy flapjacks is that they can’t go soft. That and all of the sugar means that in an airtight tub your mincemeat flapjacks will last for about 5 days.

Can You Freeze Flapjacks?

Yes. Leave your flapjacks to cool, slice, and either wrap individually or freeze in an airtight tub. I’d maybe pop a bit of baking paper between them so that they don’t stick together, and you can get them out one at a time.