Duckflaps

Every week I try to bake us a low fat, low sugar, high protein treat. This week it is Duck flaps so called because the oats make it kinda like a flapjack. Plus the word "duckflaps" sounds like a swear word. heh heh

Don’t those look yum?

 You can make then with regular flour but I make mine gluten free. I do a big mix of  the following flours:

3 cups buckwheat, 3 cups quinoa, 3 cups brown rice, 3 cups chickpea

I chose this mix as they are all high protein and high iron and calcium and full of vitamins. Plus I can buy them all locally. I had a love affair with teff flour as it is soooo nutritious but it is hard to find and I’ve run out. If I ever see it again I’ll snatch it up, but until then all the other flours will suffice.

 Duckflaps

Preheat the oven to 180C/375F

Grease a rectangular 8 X 12 inch pan

In a bowl mix the following dry ingredients:

 1 cup sifted wholemeal pastry flour (or 1 cup sifted GF flour blend)

½ cup oats

1/3 cup vanilla Demerara sugar (or regular sugar and add 2 tsp vanilla essence to the liquid ingredients. But vanilla sugar is really easy to make yourself--see note)

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp (smoked) sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp allspice

¼ tsp nutmeg

½ cup broken walnuts

¼ cup sunflower seeds

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup dark chocolate chips

 In the blender combine:

1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 1 ½ cups home cooked chickpeas. But also run water over them like you are rinsing them, the extra moisture helps)

¾ cup pitted medjool dates--about 6-7

¼ cup liquid sweetener--I use Lyle’s golden syrup as it has a buttery taste

1 ¼ cups water

2 TB flax meal

1 TB apple cider vinegar

Optional--2 tsp vanilla essence if you didn’t have vanilla sugar

 Blend until a smooth puree then add to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine and then pour into greased pan. Bake 14 minutes then take the pan out and rotate it round so both sides cook evenly and put it back in for another 14 minutes. Let cool then slice into a 3 X 4 grid to make 12 slices.

Making vanilla sugar is so easy it is worth doing at home. It can be hella-expensive to buy, but cheap to make yourself.

1. Get a container

2. Fill it with sugar--we like Demerara

3. Get some vanilla pods and slit them open so the seeds are exposed and insert them in the sugar

4. Leave it alone for a few weeks.

5. Open it up and the sugar will be darker and more fragrant.

6. You can keep the same vanilla pods in for YEARS just keep topping up with more sugar and stirring to mix. About once a year I add another pod if I’ve got one. Or not.

 You can make your own vanilla essence by adding vanilla pods that you slit into vodka or brandy and letting it sit for a month to infuse. Top up when low and let infuse again. Or have 2 on the go--bottle A to use and bottle B that got low and  is maturing so that when bottle A runs low you top up with alcohol and start using bottle B. Make sense?