Fabulous Fig Bars

Name: Fabulous Fig Bars
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: 24 bars (about 2.5 x 2 inches)
Ingredients: 16 ounces dried figs; chopped½ cup chopped walnuts⅓ cup sugar¼ cup orange juice (juice from ½ orange)2 Tablespoons hot water½ cup margarine or butter; softened1 cup packed brown sugar1 large egg1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (try whole-wheat flour or a mix)½ teaspoon baking soda1 ¼ cups old fashioned rolled oats

Sweet and buttery treat with crunchy walnuts and a dash of citrus. For breakfast, snack or on-the-go!

Oat bars with a fig center on a serving platter.

Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Makes: 24 bars (about 2.5 x 2 inches)
Nutrition Facts: View label

Ingredients

16 ounces dried figs, chopped

½ cup chopped walnuts

⅓ cup sugar

¼ cup orange juice (juice from ½ orange)

2 Tablespoons hot water

½ cup margarine or butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (try whole-wheat flour or a mix)

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 ¼ cups old fashioned rolled oats

Directions

Wash hands with soap and water.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
Combine figs, walnuts, sugar, orange juice and hot water in a mixing bowl and set aside.
Mix together margarine or butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add egg and mix until smooth.
Mix flour and baking soda. Stir into egg mixture. Blend in oats to make soft dough.
Reserve 1 cup of dough for topping. With floured fingertips, press the remaining dough into a thin layer on the bottom of the baking pan.
Spread fig mixture evenly over the dough. Crumble reserved dough over top, allowing fig mixture to show.
Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in baking pan. Cut into 24 bars (about 2½ x 2 inches).
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Notes

No dried figs? Use 3 cups chopped fresh figs. Omit the hot water and orange juice, but add 1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest (grate the outer colored part of the peel).

Comments

Submitted by SoCal red on Tue, 08/11/2020 - 12:52

Question, I have a lot of fresh green figs, can I use these in place of dried? How do I measure with fresh. Thank you

Submitted by FHteam on Tue, 08/11/2020 - 14:56

Hi, thanks for your question! We haven't tested this recipe with fresh figs, but that would be a great idea since the season is upon us now. My suggestions would be to start with 3 cups chopped fresh figs, omit the hot water and orange juice since they are not needed to soften the dried figs and add some orange or lemon zest (1/2 teaspoon). We will give this a try soon, but please share if you decide to try yourself first.

Food Hero Team

Submitted by SoCal red on Tue, 08/11/2020 - 16:31

FoodHero team. Thank you for the suggestion. I wasn’t sure what to do with the crop

Submitted by walscaro on Sat, 04/18/2020 - 13:44

These bars are fabulous! I love figs and will definitely make them again. Other recipes for fig bars have looked too involved, but this recipe is super simpleto make. Next time I will try them with whole wheat flour and a tad less sugar because the figs were pretty sweet on their own. Thanks!