Make these yummy fig bars!

Like me, you may have discovered a forgotten bag of figs you meant to put out on the platter for NYE!These are so plump and soft and the buttery spiced crumble is a yummy contrast to the sweet, sticky filling. ⁠
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These bars make a a great little healthy snack either mid morning or mid afternoon when it’s time to put your feet up with a cuppa. Or just grab one for dessert. ⁠

Put them to good use with this easy recipe which make a perfect lunchbox friendly snack or delicious dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. You could also replace the figs with Medjool dates if you like.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Rapadura Sugar
Wholemeal Spelt Flour
Desiccated Coconut 
Ginger powder
Rolled Oats
Figs or Medjool Dates

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration take a look at my popular ebook, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes.

It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved and take the guess work out of what delicious, healthy food to pack your kids for lunch!

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Fig Bars

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 12

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

Bottom layer

• 100 grams cup butter softened
• 1/4 cup rapadura sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup wholemeal spelt flour or any plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Fig Filling

• 1.5 cups chopped Turkish figs or you can use Medjool dates
• 1 cup water

Oat Topping

• 1/4 cup wholemeal spelt flour or any plain flour
• 1/4 cup rapadura sugar
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger optional but our whole family love ginger and it goes well with fig
• 3 tablespoons cold butter

Instructions

• Heat oven to 175 degrees C and line a 20 cm square pan with parchment paper.

Bottom Layer

• Beat butter, sugar, vanilla together in a bowl until pale and creamy (2-3 minutes). Add egg and beat until just combined.
• Sift in flour and baking powder and stir until just combined.
• Press mixture into the pan and bake for 10 minutes until just set and remove from oven to slightly cool.

Fig Filling

• While bottom layer is in the oven, put figs and water into a small saucepan and bring to boil. Uncover and stir intermittently until figs are tender and water is absorbed, around 5-8 minutes. Mash with a fork or blend in small processor to create a fig paste.
• Spread paste over slightly cooled bottom layer.

Oat Topping

• In a small bowl mix flour, sugar, oats, coconut and ginger. Add butter and rub dry mixture into butter with your fingertips until well combined and it looks similar to a crumble topping.
• Spread over fig layer and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until top is golden brown.
• Cool completely (around 1hr) and then cut into bars.
• Topping may be a bit crumbly but will continue to set.

If you make this recipe and share on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek.

Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook. She’ll get a total kick out of seeing you bring her recipe to life.

Some other delicious healthy treats you might like are Orange and Poppy Seed Bars and Muesli Slice. 

So in usual Brenda style I set out to make the healthier version while the kids doubted I’d be able to match the tastiness (without all the sugar).

Lo and behold!

The kids went cray cray over my version, popped them in their lunch boxes each day, and have already asked me to make them again, and again …

These bars are so good that I just had to put this recipe into my Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes ebook  which is packed with 40 delicious nut-free, sweet and savoury wholefood recipes your kids will love! Grab you copy here.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Rapadura or coconut sugar
Spelt flour
Baking powder
Honey or rice malt syrup

Print

Orange Poppy Seed Bars

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 165 grams butter softened
• 1/2 cup rapadura or coconut sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups spelt flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup poppy seeds soaked in 4 tablespoons orange juice
• ICING
• 150 grams cream cheese
• 1-2 tablespoon honey or rice malt syrup
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 2 teaspoons orange zest

Instructions

• Grease and line a slice pan with baking paper
• Preheat oven to 175 degrees
• Pop butter and sugar into a bowl and beat with an electric mixture until pale and creamy (1-2 minutes)
• Add one egg in at a time, beat well
• Add in the poppy seed/orange mixture and stir
• Add flour and baking powder and fold in
• Pour into the slice pan
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean
• Cool in the tin for 10 minutes
• Carefully turn onto a cooling rack
• Ice once completely cool
• ICING - simply pop all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth
• Using a butter knife spread icing onto cooled cake
• Slice into bars
• I stored them in the fridge

If you know someone who could use some lunch box inspo, please share this recipe with them!

And please take photos and send them to me, or if you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek

Remember to check out Easy Wholefood Lunchbox ebook here.

You might also like these Oat Seed and Date Bars or this Muesli Slice. Both also make great lunch box fillers.

Bren x