Gluten Free Fig Bars
Summer is coming to an end (THANK GOD)! Is anyone else shouting with joy or is it just me? lol. Don’t get me wrong, I do like summer, but I LOVE fall. That is my JAM. Summer is coming to a close, now I think we’re past the treacherous heat wave and it’s starting to feel cool, even during the evening!
It means we’re back to school guys. I’m sure it’s been difficult for parents and families this year, having children around if you’re working from home, and now making the difficult decision whether to keep your kids home or back to school as some are re-opening. As long as establishments are taking it seriously, staying safe for the sake of our kids – I know we can make it through this school season!!
That said I’m sharing this recipe because of I was inspired by the ‘back-to-school’ season. Back to school means you gotta make time for snacks. Not just for kids though, I mean, for adults too (hehe)! I’ve always had a soft spot for fig newtons – I grew up with the original bars and ate em every change I got.
While I love dried figs, fresh figs taste great! Dried figs provide a great concentrated flavor, but the natural sweetness of fresh figs is just so delicious. I bought these at a store, but I wish I grew them! Naturally fresh picked figs are soo different in taste, it’s something I hope I can grow on my own! I have a note in the recipe how to use dried figs as well, so you can make the fig jam with either dried of fresh!
So onto the recipe! These incorporate almond flour, coconut flour and coconut oil – completely gluten and dairy free as well. There is a certain interesting ingredient though – gelatin powder! I think this helps mold and gel the ingredients together well, thus no egg here either! I’m sure you could swap that in if you wanted to but I have yet to try it.
The jam is the star of these bars, so it’s best to flavor these as you wish – if you have juice on hand to mix with your jam, the better. Orange juice and cinnamon are two ingredients that pair well together, but for the sake of this recipe I opted for water, the figs are sweet already. It’s important to add in some acidity as well, to really bring out the flavor, so you prevent the jam being just one flat note.
The dough may be a bit wet, if that’s the case then just sprinkle in more coconut or almond flour to help bind it. Careful not to add too much flour, or else the folding mechanism to make these bars may break the dough.
These fig bars always have reminded me of my childhood and I hope you enjoy these for snack time, for yourself, your kids and the family!
Gluten Free Fig Bars
Alternative recipe for those nostalgic fig newtons, great for back to school!
Fig Jam (filling)
- 16 fresh figs (stems removed, wash, dried and quartered)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup water (orange juice if you have it gives it a punch of flavor)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon
Fig Dough (bar)
- 1.5 cup almond four
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/8 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp gelatin powder (or whole packet)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 5.5 tbsp coconut oil (melted and cooled (no hard chunks))
Make the Fig Jam
Preheat the oven at 350 F degrees.
In a medium sauce pan, over medium heat toss in fresh figs, brown sugar, 1/4 liquid (water of orange juice) and acid (lemon or apple cider vinegar). Cook thoroughly and stirring often with a spatula, as the sugar from the brown sugar and fig could burn if you don't keep an eye on it carefully!
Mix this until it reveals a jammy consistency. The way you might know this if you dunk your spatula in the jam, take it out and run a finger (careful it may still be hot to touch) or utensil and draw a line on the back of the spatula. If it runs clean, and the jam isn't dripping, you're in a good spot. If your jam is watery, it will be difficult to mold the bars later on.
Set aside for jam to cool while you move onto making the dough.
Make the Fig Dough
Combine all the dry ingredients first and whisk thoroughly. It's important that all of these are incorporated evenly through out the dough.
Next, add in your wet ingredients and mix the entire dough together well. It will be somewhat "wet" but this is the result of using coconut oil versus another liquid. If you feel that it's too wet, toss in a tiny spoonful of coconut flour at a time.
Construct the bars
On the silicon mat, spread out the fig dough in a rectangle measuring out about 12 inches long and 5-6 inches wide. You may use a sheet or parchment paper on top with a rolling pin to smooth out the dough if you'd like. I personally used my hands to spread it out! This will be up to you how you want to shape your bars but this shape made it seem easy to shape and fill.
Fill the bottom half of the rectangle with the fig jam you made earlier, starting from the bottom left side of the dough, leaving about 1/4 of space from the edge; but don't spread it past 2/3 of the way up. This is because you are going to be pulling the top half of the dough over the bottom to create a "sandwich" so to speak. So by overcrowding with jam, the dough may break!
Once you've spread the jam evenly, pull the top half of the dough and cover the bottom half, pinching slightly where the edges meet so that the fig jam doesn't spill through the cracks.
Bake and Enjoy!
You should have a rectangle log-ish type shape, ready to bake in the oven.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20~25 minutes until the outsides are golden brown.
Take out of the oven and let it cool completely. Use a knife to cut the log long-wise to create bars, then into squares if you desire. I like the square shape since it's nearly bite size and easy to hold!
Fig Jam with Dried Figs:
- 10-11 oz of dried turkish or mission figs
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (if you want it on the sweeter side, I recommend adding this later if you feel like you want more sweetness!)
In a saucepan on medium heat, combine the dried figs and orange juice and cook for at least 15-20 minutes. Occasionally stirring the mixture, the figs will start to soften and create a jam consistency. The liquid will cook down and ultimately you’ll be left with a thick jam. Discard any liquid you have left (this liquid will still be somewhat thick, in which you could use as syrup! Toss it on pancakes or toast!)
Love,
Rina
