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Sunday, December 20, 2009

Skinny Figgy Bars

Fig Bars

I hope you enjoy this "rerun" of a recipe I associate closely with Christmas. It's my low-fat, veganized interpretation of the fig-filled cookies my husband's grandmother always made for Christmas. D looked forward to those cookies every year, and once he married a vegan, his grandmother often made a special egg-free batch just for us. Sadly, she's no longer with us, but I think of her whenever I make these fig bars.

I made an impulse buy the other day, one of those "rings" of dried figs. I've been missing fresh figs all summer, so when I saw these dried figs in the store, I bought them without thinking. But then they sat on my kitchen counter taunting me with memories of my yummy, but definitely not low-fat, Holiday Fig Bars. Since I've been trying to cut down on sugar and refined foods lately, making a batch of those bars would not be in my best interest.

But visions of fig bars persisted, as such cravings will when you have the primary ingredient sitting right on your kitchen counter. I finally broke down this afternoon, just in time for my afternoon pot of coffee (another substance I should probably give up but won't), and made fig bars. Actually, I decided to make fig bars healthy. I revamped my recipe so that the oil is gone, the refined flour is history, and the sugar is . . . well, the sugar is reduced. It's gotta have something in it besides figs, you know!

You will be amazed at how good these are. They're low in everything, except flavor.

Fig Bars

Skinny Figgy Bars
(click for printer-friendly version)

Filling:

8 ounces dried figs (one round package)
4 ounces pitted dates
2 tbsp. silvered or chopped almonds (optional)
2 drops anise extract (optional)
1 tbsp. agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener)
2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ginger

Snip off the figs' stems, and put the figs, dates, and almonds into the food processor. Grind to a coarse paste. Stir in the remaining filling ingredients and process until mixed. Set aside.

Crust:

1 cup regular or quick oats, ground in blender until fine
1 cup regular or quick oats, uncooked (not instant oatmeal)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces unsweetened apple sauce
3 tbsp. agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener)
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir in the wet ingredients, mixing well to a thick consistency. Press half the crust mixture into the bottom of an oiled, eight-inch square cake pan (use a wooden spoon or your hands). Spread the fig mixture evenly over the crust. Smooth the remaining crust mixture over the filling. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

Icing (optional):

Mix powdered sugar (about 3 tbsp.) with a little water (Start with 1/2 tsp.) until the right consistency. Add vanilla or almond extract to taste (just drops). Drizzle over top of bars before cutting.

Makes 16 bars. Each bar (with almonds) contains: 117 Calories (kcal); 1 g Total Fat; (10% calories from fat); 2 g Protein; 26 g Carbohydrate; 0 mg Cholesterol; 67 mg Sodium; 4 g Fiber



Happy Holidays to you all!


Lables: Eat to Live, Gluten-Free*, Holidays

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75 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Do you think this recipe could be made gluten-free (and even higher in protein) by substituting the uncooked oats for quinoa flakes and the ground oats for blended/ground quinoa flakes or quinoa flour?

9:55 PM, August 11, 2006  
Blogger SusanV said...

I wish I knew, but I really don't have any experience with quinoa flakes so I don't know their baking properties. You could always give it a try and report back. Maybe if you look at a few recipes that use quinoa flakes, you can figure out the correct proportions to use.

11:12 PM, August 11, 2006  
Blogger Mindy T. said...

I absolutely love the look of these bars and will be trying them soon. Thanks, Susan!

http://mindycooks.blogspot.com

1:37 AM, August 12, 2006  
Blogger laura jesser said...

Ooh, those look so good. My aunt has a giant fig tree, and a food dehydrator, which means she had a plethora of dried figs right now. Maybe I'll have to get some from her.

I think it's wonderful that you can take an old favorite recipe and veganize it and make it healthier! I need to start experimenting with some of mine.

10:12 AM, August 12, 2006  
Blogger Alanna said...

oh my ... I've got it all except the dates and figs. On my way to the store ... NOW!

11:04 AM, August 12, 2006  
Blogger Chris said...

Looks awesome! I'm making my shoping list now...

12:06 PM, August 12, 2006  
Blogger Dori said...

This looks wonderful. Figs are one of my favs.

10:02 PM, August 12, 2006  
Blogger Melissa said...

These look awesome! I'm definitely going to have to pick up the stuff to make them.

11:05 PM, August 12, 2006  
Blogger Melody said...

Those look great!

9:03 AM, August 13, 2006  
Blogger Pure Zuke said...

Susanv... Are you coming out with a cookbook soon, because I swear, everything you make looks amazing!

1:50 PM, August 13, 2006  
Blogger funwithyourfood said...

I like how you can see the seeds of the fig in your pictures. When I was a kid I grew up on the east coast and I remember eating a lot of figs. I miss that
Great figgy bar :)

Teddy

7:06 PM, August 13, 2006  
Blogger mipmup said...

i am eliminating sugar in my diet as much as i can, but i seriously need to make these.

9:47 PM, August 13, 2006  
Blogger springsandwells said...

I'm so glad that you posted this recipe! It looks great! Figs are a very magical food indeed. I think I might make them for my book club. hmmm....

1:32 AM, August 16, 2006  
Blogger Kate said...

These look soo good. I can not wait to try them. Trying to get my family to eat healthy is hard so i have been looking for health-in-hiding foods. I also love how you have printer-friendly versions. Props.

2:50 PM, August 16, 2006  
Blogger nancy said...

I made them today - fantastic!! I added lemon to the confectioner's sugar for the frosting - perfect.

10:59 AM, August 27, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi! I just found this recipe for Skinny Figgy Bars online! It looks delicious and I can't wait to try making some. Quick question though- I don't have a blender but I do have a small mini food processor- would that work for the oats?
thanks!

11:59 PM, December 05, 2006  
Blogger SusanV said...

Anonymous, I think a small food processor would work. I wouldn't use a regular one because I think the oats would just spin around without getting chopped, but a mini-processor is probably small enough to work. Good luck!

10:06 AM, December 06, 2006  
Anonymous MissKriss said...

Hallo :) I finally made this recipe and am *very* happy with it :). I replaced the dates with apricots and left out the almonds and the icing - supersweet and very yummy, even though I made the bars too thin. Thanks for a great recipe. K,

11:28 PM, January 30, 2007  
Blogger San Luis said...

Ah, my Fig Newton fix … fixed! These are just gorgeous and so delicious. They were just a smidge too sweet for me. Next time, perhaps I'll skip the sweetener in the filling and ease up on the icing? I'm not skipping the icing, though -- it really makes them look as mouthwatering as they taste!

A few thoughts:

1. If you use figs in a pouch, versus a round package, you'll likely be looking for Calimyrna figs, not the dark Mission ones.

2. The filling can be really thick and could be taxing on a small or less powerful food processor.

3. Don't be put off if the crust and filling are hard to spread in the cake pan. It'll come out just fine!

Really, I'll be surprised if I can go a week without making another batch. Awesome!

Sara

5:03 PM, February 23, 2007  
Blogger mr_mendleson said...

Very nice! I made them last night and am having one with coffee as I type. We’re almost through our third week of eating to live, so I left off the icing for now.

The only change I made was using a seven grain oat cereal for the cup ground oats, because I only had one cup of regular oats. Okay I had two changes, the second “change” taught me not to measure the two drops of anise extract over the mixing bowl. Some bites taste a tad more like licorice bars.

Thank you very much. I’m off to look at the rest of your recipes!
christopher

6:26 AM, March 30, 2007  
Anonymous veggiesushi said...

These were the best desserty item I have ever made. I used prunes instead of dates and they were excellent. Yummy, Yummy, Yummy!!!

4:01 PM, July 21, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i'm making these this afternoon - i can't wait! one question though: can i freeze them?

7:40 AM, September 03, 2007  
Blogger SusanV said...

I haven't tried freezing them, but I really don't see why you couldn't. Please let me know how they come out, though.

7:44 AM, September 03, 2007  
Anonymous Pia said...

Hi,
I love reading your food blog and have been following it for a while. Tried your skinny fig bars for the first time. The filling came out delicious and I'm going to make that again. But the cookie part with the oatmeal came out tasting exactly like cardboard (texture and flavor) - sorry :-( I followed your recipe exactly. So don't know what happened. Nevertheless, the recipe for the filling is a keeper. I will just tinker with the crust and see what to do about that.
Thanks for sharing your wonderful blog with us all.

5:43 PM, December 18, 2007  
Blogger TheWay said...

I made these for my families Christmas gathering and they turned out great! Only change I made was substituting pure maple syrup for the agave. Thanks for the great recipes!

1:00 AM, December 31, 2007  
Anonymous Mindy said...

I made these earlier today and I must say these are AWESOME! Even my carnivorous, chocolate loving husband said that I shouldn't be embarrassed to take these to any function. He noted that I shouldn't mention things like "vegan" or "fat-free"...at least until after they are eaten.

7:31 PM, January 10, 2008  
Blogger -W- said...

If the crust was "carboard" flavored, it's probably the kind of oats you used. Some brands are just nasty. I recommend the kind you get at Trader Joe's (Country Choice Organic brand) or Bob's Red Mill.

8:16 PM, January 19, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I made some great quinoa banana muffins with the recipe off the box of quinoa flakes. It used quinoa flour as well (really easy to grind in a hand crank grain grinder). So, I bet this recipe would work great quinoa.

1:29 AM, July 04, 2008  
Blogger Lexi said...

Hey Susan -

Could fresh figs be used in this recipe? I just bought a gigantic box with something like this in mind :] If so, about how many would I use?

8:00 PM, July 31, 2008  
Blogger SusanV said...

Hi Lexi,

I haven't tried using fresh figs, but my guess is that they wouldn't work--or at least the results might be different from the way the recipe's supposed to come out. If you'd like to try them, I suggest following the Blueberry-Oat Bars recipe, using figs instead of blueberries. Just cut off the stems, but the figs into pieces, and use more agave nectar if needed to make them sweet enough. I don't know if it will work, but it sounds possible. :)

8:23 PM, July 31, 2008  
OpenID juleske said...

These were quite nice! The oatmeal was pretty hard to spread but the result was very tasty. They also freeze well, i have a slice for breakfast for every day of this week :)

5:57 AM, October 14, 2008  
Blogger Emily said...

I was looking for a quick and healthy way to get some carbs in before my morning runs, and this looked perfect.

First, I made it essentially as written. It was very hard to process the dried fruit in a Magic Bullet, I ended up mashing everything together after it wouldn't process anymore. It tasted very good overall, but I felt like the crust was missing something.

So I made it again, using the handful of leftover dates and figs I had from the first go, along with some raisins and some black bananas I had saved in the freezer. I made the crust with 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/3 cup rolled oats, 2/3 cup Fiber One cereal (I'm not vegan so I'm not sure if this vegan friendly), and a half cup of puffed wheat cereal. I added cinnamon and nutmeg. This time, the crust was delicious, although I would add more puffed wheat next time. The inside was gooey and not as tasty as the first time, but still very good.

Thanks for the recipe!

10:41 PM, October 31, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I just made these and TOASTED the oats before grinding half. Really boosted the flavor - sort of like oatmeal cookies. Thanks for a great recipe!

11:30 AM, November 01, 2008  
Blogger Rose&Thorn said...

I am so glad I found your blog, I am totally inspired by your style of cooking and baking,

3:52 AM, November 03, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Susan,
Today it's Father's day where I live, so I made the skinny figgy bars for my father together with your cranberry sorbet recipe, only I used mountain cranberries and lemon instead of orange rind.
Both the recipes turned out great! My father loved them; it was exactly his taste. And the two recipes fitted perfectly together as well. Thank you for your wonderful site Susan! Next I'm going to try your persimmon bread, I can't wait!

Elisabeth, Norway

12:44 PM, November 09, 2008  
Blogger Kari said...

Your recipe looks great. I have a fig tree because my husband loves figs. I've never done anything with them because they don't look great; they don't smell great; and I can't imagine them tasting great but I justified keeping the tree believeing that it kept our local birds happy. But, yesterday, the hubby asked how come I never do anything with the figs. Today, I read up on figs and I learned when and how to pick them. Then, I made some fig jam which, admittedly, is quite good. Now, the hubby says, why don't you make fig newtons. We love fig newtons......so here I am. I will be trying your recipe but will have to adapt in order to use my jam. I'm thinking about doing your crust----topping it with jam---then baking it openface....then slapping two halves together so the gooey figs end in the middle of the 2 crusts. How does that sound?

10:28 PM, November 09, 2008  
Blogger Maria said...

Hi, Susan -

Just wanted to let you know, I made these bars for my Pastor, who lost his Mom a couple weeks back. When I saw him Sunday, he gave me a big hug and said the bars were "mmm... mmm... mmm..." He also warned me I was gonna make him "gain pounds" (sic). I explained to him how healthy they were and he looked at me in disbelief. I'll continue making your recipes because I just love them and are a great help in my new life as a veggie.

P.S.: I tell my friends on LiveJournal about your recipes that I've tried, and just link them to your page. =)

4:23 PM, November 11, 2008  
Blogger Kasey said...

This looks like a fantastic replacement to my Fig Newman addiction. Don't have much experience cooking with agave nectar, but willing to give it a try, as I've read/heard so much about it.

10:50 PM, January 14, 2009  
Blogger Michelle said...

I made these last night and they are quite good. Thanks for the recipe! However, as a bit of a glutton who is not averse to heavier desserts, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind posting the recipe for your Holiday Fig Bars as well. I know that you mostly keep the theme to healthy recipes, but now I am curious. Please?

6:53 PM, January 16, 2009  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Low in everything? They're pure sugar. I'm getting insulin resistance just looking at them!

That being said, these bars would make a lovely special treat for my fig-loving young niece! Will be trying them soon.

10:19 PM, February 09, 2009  
Anonymous Sarah said...

Thank you for this amazing recipe. I've been easing off of processed foods for a while now-but I've been missing the baked goods. This hits the spot! I've frozen a double batch for on the run morning breakfasts.
In one batch I added vanilla to the filling, in the other, blood orange zest.
Oh, I also added a little balsamic reduction-I find it goes beautifully with the figs.

4:40 PM, February 20, 2009  
Anonymous Kara said...

These look great, but did you notice a difference with cuttiing out the oil or was the applesauce enough to make the bars not too dry or hard?

1:27 PM, April 29, 2009  
Blogger Laina said...

Hey, Susan. I made these bars today, and I must say they are really tasty.

The only negative thing I can say about them is that I'll be tempted to eat too many! :-)

I didn't have anise liquid so I used 1/4 teaspoon of anise seed instead.

Well done!

7:46 PM, May 12, 2009  
Blogger Meagan said...

These look perfect! I will be making them gluten free using some GF oats! Thanks for the recipe!

4:15 PM, June 28, 2009  
Blogger Rawket Food said...

Fig are in the dehydrator right now! Woo hoo! I might try the quinoa flakes since I have so much of them. Looks delicious!

3:35 PM, August 05, 2009  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't have a food processor..Could I use my blender for the food processor part?

11:46 AM, September 01, 2009  
Blogger SusanV said...

I'm afraid that the mixture would just bog down in the blender. I think it'd be more successful if you chopped everything by hand and mashed it together in a bowl. Much more time consuming, though!

6:13 PM, September 01, 2009  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Susan,

This is an excellent recipe, I'll try it these days. I wonder what can be used instead of agave nectar; it seems that is not as healthy as they say, might be a health food fraud
Thank you for the wonderful recipes,
Lucia

4:03 PM, October 23, 2009  
Blogger tracieMoo said...

I'm amazed by the looks of these fig bars already! what a delicious skinny treat!

9:09 PM, December 20, 2009  
OpenID stuffedpumpkin said...

I made these once before and despite going out with the dog and forgetting about them (had an extra 30minutes in the oven =P ) they were delicious! I had forgotten about them until now!

10:20 PM, December 20, 2009  
Blogger Lexi said...

Hi Susan,

A comment above just reminded me that I forgot to report back on using fresh figs. I peeled and then pureed the figs and then cooked them in a saucepan until the figs had reached a paste-like consistency. This seemed to work out fine as they were delicious fig-newton-alikes!

I'm sure the dried figs would be even easier/less work, but for those who have fresh figs, there's definitely an option :)

1:13 AM, December 21, 2009  
Blogger whirling dervish said...

Thank you Susan V for yet another spectacular recipe.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to a -hands down -all time BEST vegan blogger on the net.
Have a Healthy Happy and Peaceful New Year. Rosemary

10:19 AM, December 21, 2009  
Anonymous moonwatcher said...

Hi again Susan!

Talk about being on the same page--I was making these yesterday as you were posting the recipe again, without knowing you had posted it. . .:) They do seem very Christmasy to me, too, and what a wonderful way to honor the memory of D's grandmother, and all our grandmothers who made us special Christmas treats.

To the person who asked about subbing quinoa flakes for oats at the top, here's my subjective experience: yes, they can work nicely alone or in combination with oats. In this particular recipe, which I have made many times, using certified gluten free oats, since I need to be gluten free too, I would suggest doing some combination. I think all quinoa flakes AND quinoa flour might be too strong of a taste, or a more grassy and less sweet taste that the oats seem to have. if you don't have gluten free oats available, I would try the quinoa flakes, and maybe sorghum flour, or a combination of sorghum and brown rice flour. .

Happy Holidays to all--this is one of my favorite recipes of Susan's and I love reading all the happy comments about them!

moonwatcher

12:50 PM, December 21, 2009  
Blogger PJ said...

these look so delicious! I can't even believe looking at the picture that these are butter-less :) A wonderful keeper recipe!

4:24 PM, December 21, 2009  
Anonymous Sophie said...

my dad is obsesssedddd with fig newtons... I'm going to make him these as a healthy alternative! (he says fig newman's don't come close) I'll let you know how it goes! if you ever want to check out a raw dessert-my blog (thephilosophie.com) has a few! thanks again! :) i'll be in touch!

4:58 PM, December 21, 2009  
Blogger thumbelina levity said...

I made these last week for my toddler in lieu of the pricey (albeit healthy) cereal bars he loves. We both LOVED them! I want to experiment with some different fruit fillings, since organic dates and figs are spendy where I live. Do you have any tips?

p.s. I love your blog. I'm normally a "fly by the seat of my pants" kind of girl in the kitchen, but have always relied on fats to make things taste good. You're changing my palate (and hopefully my waistline will follow!).

7:57 PM, December 21, 2009  
Blogger Jody said...

These can be made gluten free by getting oats that are safe, like Bob's Red mill or Lara's brand. I grind the oats and have done chocolate chip cookies this way. I'm dying to make these in the next few days!! Thanks for creating this.

8:09 PM, December 21, 2009  
Anonymous small cabin said...

I really don't know how to do things in the kitchen so I probably be contented looking at the figgy bars.

3:10 AM, December 22, 2009  
Blogger nannykim said...

I am so thankful for your blog. I have tried some of your recipes and my family usually likes them a lot!! We are trying to be Vegan and Mcdougall style, so your blog is helpful. We sometimes will have some fish or meat on occasion.

I tried this Skinny Figgy Bar and I really love it. I have to be Gluten free , but I don't have a problem with oats. There is some controversy about oats, however Bob's does make a gluten free oat! Regular oats have not bothered me however.

2:02 PM, December 22, 2009  
Anonymous The Voracious Vegan said...

Wow, these look GORGEOUS! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe, I've been looking for a great fig cookie and now I think I've found it. Can't wait to give them a try.

7:50 AM, December 25, 2009  
Anonymous Nancy @ TheSensitivePantry said...

These are really beautiful and tempting. And, I'm so happy I can actually make and eat them (gluten-free & egg-free). Thanks for posting the recipe.

6:03 PM, December 26, 2009  
Anonymous Rachel said...

I want to try these sometime! I love how they look so good but are so healthy! Thanks!

5:00 PM, December 29, 2009  
Blogger Guinnah said...

These look fabulous Susan. This year I toyed around with the idea of drying some of the figs from our overly prolific trees...this is an inspiration to do so we can enjoy them all year. I love a recipe that reminds me of someone...it's like having them in the kitchen with you! Happy New Year...

4:31 PM, January 02, 2010  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This looks like an amazing recipe and I will try it for sure.
Do you think it's possible to swtich the oats for buckwheat or millet flakes?
Also I don't use isolated sugars like agave, any advice if I want to cut it out? Maybe add a bit more applesauce to the crust and dates/figs for the filling?

Thank you for an awesome blog!

2:21 AM, January 06, 2010  
Blogger Marisa said...

As a coffee drinker myself, I'm always looking for a good reason to keep it in my menu. As a researcher who keeps up on projects, I have come across several studies that show numerous health benefits of coffee, so don't feel guilty about it! Enjoy!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/search/?keyword=coffee

8:48 PM, January 06, 2010  
Anonymous Kelly Michelle said...

OMG, just made these and I am in heaven, so glad to read they freeze well because otherwise I might eat the whole batch today and that would kind of negate the healthy aspect...

4:28 PM, January 07, 2010  
Anonymous Kelly Michelle said...

p.s. I am seeing these as healthy apricot squares too, keeping the dates for sweetness and subbing for the figs for dried apricots, will be sure to comment back if I try it. Anyone else tried a different fruit filling?

4:34 PM, January 07, 2010  
Anonymous Barbara W said...

whoa, mama - do these sound fabulous!!! Since becoming gluten free, I have missed fig newtons more than any other cookie. I am going to try these this weekend using Bob's Red Mill gluten free oats. thank you for such a fabulous recipe!

2:02 PM, January 15, 2010  
Anonymous lovemyfamily said...

delish. if i do apricots do i sub it for the figs or dates... thanks

6:58 PM, February 09, 2010  
Blogger SusanV said...

I haven't tried it but for apricot bars, I'd replace the figs with apricots.

8:56 PM, February 09, 2010  
Anonymous moonwatcher said...

HI Susan,

You know I love these figgy bars, and have made them more times than I care to count, but the other day I was musing about how to get more cranberries in my diet, and I started wondering if I could come up with a cranberry filling for these, using your filling recipe as a template. This is what I did:

I plumped about a cup of dried cranberries in some water that had come to the boil in the tea kettle for a few minutes. I also threw in a handful of raisins.

I put the drained cranberries and raisins in the food processor with two dates (that was all I had, but it really was all I needed), a tbs of orange juice instead of the lemon juice, for the water I used the soaking water, some orange zest, a dash of anise extract, and to the ginger and cinnamon, I added some cardamom. I also used the almonds.

This filling spread quite easily, even with a spatula. I also added a pinch of anise extract to the batter.

Anyway, here's another version, to stand alongside these wonderful fig bars.

Thanks for inspiring me!

moonwatcher

7:24 PM, February 11, 2010  
Anonymous Tia said...

I do not have much experience with figs. Does it matter in this recipe which type of dried figs are used? I have some Turkish dried figs at home now and thought I could incorporate them.

12:38 AM, February 19, 2010  
Blogger SusanV said...

Tia, I think any dried figs should do.

7:38 AM, February 19, 2010  
Blogger Claire said...

Susan,
(I also just posted a similar comment on the Pumpkin and Black Bean Casserole recipe) My recently vegan-convert and gluten free roomie and I made these bars, gluten free of course, and we can't stop drooling over them! They are seriously good and we both agree that they don't taste homemade and could easily have come from a high end bakery or something!
I have referenced you and your recipes multiple times in my own blog and I really hope vegans and non vegans alike will give these bars a try. They're too good to miss!
Thank you for sharing this one, I know this is only the first batch of many!

Claire
girlwhoplayswithfood.blogspot.com

11:07 AM, February 25, 2010  
Anonymous Alison said...

WOW! sure looks delicious!
Thanks for the recipe.

10:40 AM, March 20, 2010  

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