I love buying fig bars from the store, especially around the holidays, so I thought I should make them at home. Let me tell you, they were a total hit! They are definitely joining the holiday lineup of my favorite treats. If you want some other ideas for great holiday and winter treats, you’ve got to try these Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies, this delicious Fruit Cake, and these cute Snowball Cookies.
Fig Oatmeal Bars
I recently tried figgy pudding for the first time ( I know, where have I been this whole time?!) and it was amazing! I absolutely loved the flavor of the figs, and I realized that fig is the perfect base for a dessert. We actually included a delicious fig and grapefruit cheese on a charcuterie board that absolutely divine, and I realized I needed more figs in my life. So I thought a great new dessert to try would be these fig oatmeal bars! If you have never had an oatmeal fig bar, it’s kind of like a granola bar meets a linzer cookie. It is seriously the best thing ever! If you have ever had a fig newton, then this dessert is really similar! It is the perfect dessert for anyone who loves oats and a dessert that doesn’t leave you feeling too heavy afterwards. I am seriously obsessed with these oatmeal fig bars!
Ingredients in Oatmeal Fig Bars
Don’t be fooled by the number of ingredients, most of them repeat a few times for this oatmeal fig bar recipe! The crust on the top and bottom are not very different in ingredients, they just need to be prepared differently. The top is more like a crumble where you need cold butter to help ingredients clump together. The bottom is more like a traditional oatmeal crust. You can find the measurements below in the recipe card.
Filling
Dried Figs: Dried figs are a must for this oatmeal fig bars recipe. Fresh ones will not work the same! If you are wondering where to get dried figs, I totally get it because I didn’t remember seeing them at the grocery store until I looked for them! I found them in the dried fruit section of my grocery store. If you don’t have any luck there are lots of options online.Water: This is to help rehydrate the figs and to make the sauce.Orange Juice: I love to add orange juice because it has acid in it which really brightens up the filling.Vanilla Extract: I add just a bit of vanilla to bring out all the flavors in the figs.
Crust
Butter: Butter helps everything hold together and adds fat, which makes the crust so amazing.Brown Sugar: I like to use brown sugar because it has a deeper flavor than granulated sugar because of the molasses.Egg: Egg will help the crust hold together for these oatmeal fig bars.Rolled Oats: I love the texture and flavor of oats in the crust. It also adds extra fiber and balances out this dessert.All-Purpose Flour: I like to use it because it’s what I have on hand. You could use whole wheat flour in this recipe.Baking Powder: Baking powder helps the crust from becoming too dense and hard.Ground Cinnamon: A little pop of cinnamon in the crust really brings the whole dessert together!Ground Nutmeg: I like to add nutmeg along with cinnamon because they are the perfect pair, and go great with figs!Salt: A little salt in the crust helps to bring out all of the amazing flavors and keeps it from getting too sweet.
Topping
Rolled Oats: This is key to a nice and crumbly topping for your oatmeal fig bars. It sticks to the butter and becomes little nuggets of goodness all over this treat.Butter: You will want to keep this butter cold and cube it. When the butter is cold it crumbles instead of blends together, which is how you get the oats to clump the way you want them to.All-Purpose Flour: It’s easy to work with, and helps the oats come together in a great texture.Brown Sugar: I like to use brown sugar because of the molasses, and it adds lots of flavor to the crumble.Granulated Sugar: A little sweetness helps to bring this whole treat together.Salt: I like to add salt to the topping too so it doesn’t get too sweet.Ground Cinnamon: Cinnamon in the crust and the topping is the perfect way to bring the whole treat full circle. It’s so amazing!
Oatmeal Fig Bars Recipe
You will make this oatmeal fig bar in three steps. You will prepare the filling, the crust, and the crumble. Then you put it all together and bake! It’s a little bit of a labor of love but oh my goodness is it worth it! This is a great recipe to make for special occasions. It’s a huge hit and a really unique dessert that I think everyone will love.
Filling
Crust
Topping
Put It All Together
Whole Wheat Flour: You can use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour if you want to! Because it’s a crumbly texture on top and has oats, either flour will work great.Using Fresh Figs: I really don’t recommend using fresh figs! The dried figs cook down perfectly to make a jam like filling. The fresh ones do not! I would stick to dried figs for the best results.Other Fillings: I haven’t tried this recipe with different fillings, but I don’t see why dried dates or raisins wouldn’t work great! I’m sure you could use the same amount of chopped dates or raisins and cook them in the same way you would the figs.
In the Refrigerator: You can store your fig bars covered in plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.In the Freezer: Cover and store your fig bars in the freezer for up to two months.
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