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 vegan fig bars.
In reality, I chose to make veggie fig bars healthy. I redid my recipe with the goal that the oil is gone, the refined flour is history, and the sugar is . . . indeed, the sugar is decreased. It's gotta have something in it other than figs.
You will be astonished at how great these are. They're low in all things, aside from flavor.
- Course: Desert
- Cuisine: American
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Servings: 48 Figgy Bars
INGREDIENTS:
MAKES 48 - 350g/12oz/2 cups dried figs
- 3 eggs
- 175g/6oz/scant 1 cup caster (superfine) sugar
- 75g/3oz/⅔ cup plain (all-purpose) flour
- 5ml/1 tsp baking powder
- 2.5ml/½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1.5ml/¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1.5ml/¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1.5ml/¼ tsp salt
- 75g/3oz/¾ cup finely chopped walnuts
- 30ml/2 tsp brandy or cognac
- Icing (confectioners') sugar, for dusting.
STEPS:
- Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/ Gas 3.
- Line a 30 x 20 x 4cm/12 x 8 x 1½in tin (pan) with baking parchment and grease the paper.
- With a sharp knife, chop the figs roughly. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until well blended. In another bowl sift together the dry ingredients, then fold into the egg mixture in several batches.
- Stir in the figs, walnuts and brandy or cognac.
- Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin and bake until the top is firm and brown, 35-40 minutes. It should still be soft underneath.
- Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out and transfer to a sheet of baking parchment lightly sprinkled with icing sugar. Cut into bars.