I feel sorry for people who have never had a fig newton, a favorite dessert of mine. I feel even more sorry for someone who has never tried this fig bar recipe.
We think it's one of the best fig recipes out there. We should know; we've made quite a few.
What is it?
This fig bar recipe is a first for me. I definitely won't be a last. Raise your hand if you've never had a fig newton.
Even if you don't care for figs, chances are pretty good that you have tried them in one form or another at some point.
Some time ago our family made the short trek to a recently opened Costco store in our area. Among the things that found their way into our cart was a bag of Calimyrina figs, sun-dried and unsulfured.
Neither Scott nor myself had any idea what those designations signified but that bag still looked mighty alluring to a couple of adventurous foodies.
By the same token, neither of us had any clue about how to use these.
Fig recipes make great desserts
With the shrug of our shoulders and that "should we give 'em a try" look in both of our eyes, they swiftly made their way into our cart and a short while later into our pantry where they sat for a while.
I pulled that bag of figs out a few times, gave it some thought and still had no earthly idea what I could do with these. Until last night.
That's when Scott sent me a link to some great ways to enjoy and use figs.
That's just one of the things I love about this guy.
He's funny, I think he's quite handsome, he's a great dad and when he's not poking fun of me and my Adirondack hillbilly quasi drawl, he is on occasion quite funny.
Did I mention resourceful?
Besides figs, these simple ingredients will make this fig bar recipe sing!
- Oatmeal
- Brown sugar
- Chopped walnuts
These fig bars could barely be any easier to put together and they take just a few ingredients.
Pick some figs up the next time you see them and make these fig bars yourself.
I hope you enjoy this one.
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You might like some of our other popular dessert bar recipes, here is just a sample!
Looking for some great tips on how to be a better baker? Check out these 11 Baking Tips, from Bon Appétit!
If you’ve tried these Fig Bars or any other recipe on Platter Talk, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, we love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW US on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see what we have cooking!
Homemade Fig Bars Recipe
Ingredients
for the crust
- ½ cup butter softened
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
for the filling
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup dried figs chopped
for the topping
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons cold butter
- ¼ cup quick-cooking oats
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray 9-inch square pan with cooking spray.
- In small bowl, beat ½ cup butter, ¼ cup granulated sugar and the vanilla with electric mixer until well blended.
- On low speed, beat in 1 cup flour until soft dough forms.
- Press dough in bottom of pan and bake 10 to 15 minutes or until center is set.
- Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, cook filling ingredients over medium-high heat 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until figs are tender and most of liquid is absorbed.
- Spread over crust.
- In small bowl, mix ¼ cup flour, the brown sugar and 3 tablespoons butter, using pastry blender or fork, until crumbly.
- Stir in oats and walnuts. Sprinkle over filling.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until edges are bubbly and topping is light golden brown.
- Cool completely, about 1 hour.
- For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows.
Video
Notes
As with any dessert recipe, nut may be complete omitted with these bars.
Mary Bowers
This is a good recipe. I doubled the filling. Next time I may triple. Using fresh figs, for two cups I still should have used 1/2 cup of water. Kept the sugar the same. I baked my crust for 25 minutes; it came out quite crumbly. Also, the crust needs salt if using unsalted butter. Will work on it because our fig trees are flourishing!
Maria of the Rose
My husband came home with a small basket of fresh mission figs. I love fig Newtons but I found your recipe even more appealing. I did have over 2 cups of chopped fresh figs to play with and I decided to throwing in some chopped medjool dates in with less water as well. I let it cook down and then blended it to a less chunky paste. Honesty, the filling almost did not make it to assembly, it was so good! Fast forward an hour later…these are my new found fig favorites! Thanks for sharing!