Home made bars using fresh figs is the adult cookie upgrade you need to make. They are absolutely gorgeous and taste stupendous.

Figs, to me, are a special occasion fruit. Traditionally eaten on Rosh Hashana, it’s a fruit I look forward to each year. (Figs are in season June to September). The tang of the skin, the sweet and creamy flesh combined with those crunchy seeds is a sensation like no other fruit! 

 
Figs are a good source of fibre, potassium, vitamin B6, copper, manganeese and pantothenic acid, and have many health benefits associated with eating them. 
 
 
With some extra figs this year, I decided to create these oat
 squares to kinda-sorta-not-really-at-all mimic those fave cookies; Fig Newtons. The flavour is all there, these are just significantly more impressive 😉 
 

 

The  fig jam filling is naturally sweet and tart (plus that great crunch!), and you may want to make extra for straight eating, because it is that good.
 

Fig and Oat Bars
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
cooling time
25 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 

A home-made version of Fig Newtons

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: holiday
Keyword: figs
Servings: 12 squares
Ingredients
Filling
  • 6 fresh figs
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Dough
  • 1 ½ cups oats
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. oil
  • 2 eggs
Instructions
For filling:
  1. On stove top, bring figs, water and lemon juice to a boil, and allow to simmer until mixture starts to thicken, about 5-10 minutes
  2. Allow mixture to cool for about 5 minutes
  3. Process mixture until smooth
  4. Set aside in fridge
For dough:
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F
  2. Line 8-inch pan with parchment paper
  3. Whisk together oats, flour, sugar and salt
  4. Add in oil and eggs and mix until combined
  5. Wet hands, and press half the mixture into the pan
  6. Spread fig mixture on top
  7. Crumple pieces of remaining dough on top as crumbs
  8. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven to cool. Slice in squares

Recipe Notes

Freezes well. If stacking, place parchment paper between layers so filling doesn't tranfer