Spiced Parkin Flapjacks for Vegan Thursdays- vegan, no processed oils

Perfect for picnics...

Parkin is a traditional Yorkshire cake made with oatmeal, ginger and black treacle. (There's a nice vegan and sugarless version right here.) These flapjacks are made with oats, ginger/ cardamom and black treacle, therefore they are parkin flapjacks. Just like Yorkshire parkin. Only more biscuit-y. With me? 
We seem to be on a roll at the moment with desserts/ bakes involving more natural, dark sugars, but if you are not keen and prefer sugarless treats, don't forget to click on the tab above named Sugar Free Recipes for plenty of healthier inspiration. But if you are okay with using brown sugar now and then
and you love crunchy, chewy baked goodies bursting with moreish little fruit and nut and morsels, read on:

Makes 12 (sorry the measurements are in Imperial/ all over the place today, as I was using my mum's recipe as the basis.
8oz is half a pound, and equivalent to 226.8g- come on, you can do the maths!)
1 lb porridge oats
about 125g broken brazil nuts, chopped
a large handful of desiccated coconut
a large handful of golden sultanas
6oz soft dark brown sugar
4oz black treacle
8 fl oz unrefined sunflower oil
1/2-1 tab (according to taste- we like it strong) ground ginger or cardamom seeds, ground or unground

• Melt together the sugar and treacle in a large pan, using a gentle heat.
• Mix a small handful of the oats with about half a cup of water (1 cup =250ml) and the oil.
• Add this mixture to the pan, stirring well.
• Turn off the heat and add all the other ingredients.
• Press down firmly into an oiled shallow baking tray or Swiss roll tin and bake for about 20-25 minutes in an oven preheated to 180C. For crispier flapjacks (ours were crunchy at the edges and chewier from the middle of the tray) you could either lower the heat to 150C and bake for longer or use a larger tray and spread the mixture more thinly.

This was a Vegan Thursdays post- please get in touch if you'd like to join the group.