Monday, August 25, 2008

Oat Fig Bars

Oat Fig Bars with figs


This recipe was inspired by Aran's GF berry bars. Aran of Cannelle et Vanille, whose stunning pastry blog needs no introduction, is now a contributor on the blog Connor's Journey with Autism: a resource for families with autistic children. After reading her wonderful post, I decided to dust-off my recipe for oat bars. I happened to have a bounty of fresh organic figs, so I decided to make them with my homemade, quick and easy fig jam recipe.

These great bars are flavored with earthy oats and fragrant orange zest. We enjoy them for dessert, snack or breakfast.

Oat Fig Bar Pan

Oat Fig Bars (makes an 9" square pan)
Sucanat adds a nice earthiness to this treat but regular sugar will work as well.
I use roasted oils in salad dressings and baked goods-- they add a delicate depth of flavor. Feel free to substitute regular vegetable oil, such as canola, if you don't have any in your pantry. The bars will still taste great.

If you are not looking to cut out the gluten substitute 1 cup of whole-wheat white flour for the brown rice flour and omit the xantham gum.

Ingredients:

2 cups GF Rolled Oats
1 cup almond meal
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sucanat or granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xantham gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup roasted almond oil, or other sweet vegetable oil (or canola is okay)
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tsp of orange zest
1 cup of fig jam, homemade or store bought
2 figs, sliced thin (optional for decoration)

Preheat oven 375F.
Oil a 9" square pan

Oat Fig Bars

Mix the oats, almond meal, rice flour, sugar, baking powder, xantham gum, salt in a bowl together until well combined.

In a couple steps add the oil and mix. Then add the orange juice and zest and mix well to incorporate.

Take half the crumb mixture and pat it down at the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of fig jam. Then, sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture on top and pat it down until it looks flat and somewhat even. Finish by decorating the top with thin slices of figs.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until it looks cooked and slightly golden. Let cool before cutting and serving.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:
Blueberry Plum Clafoutis
Walnut Lebanese Cookies

22 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Oh... my... goodness... gracious. Those bars look HEAVENLY!!

Half Baked said...

Great recipe! These bars look delicious!

Anonymous said...

That is TOO flipping funny! I was just talking to my dad about when his fig tree starts going crazy and I was saying that I'm totally making fig bars. Starred the recipe! Thanks!

Lore said...

With all these great fig recipes popping out, I regret even more that I can only find dried figs here. However, I might be able to find fig jam and nibble on these delicious bars :D

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

hi alexa! i love that you used figs! When I made the blueberry bars, I asked Jill if the kids liked figs because that was my first choice. Lovely!

Alexa said...

VeggieGirl,
So happy to provide a little slice of heaven...

Half Baked,
Thanks!

Katie,
If I had a fig tree I would go nuts baking. I love figs in everything...

Lore,
I hope you can hunt down some... these bar are worth it. :-)

Aran,
Thanks for stopping by. Surprising my oldest son, who doesn't like figs because of their texture, loved these bars. I love bars with blueberries as well. I am going blueberry picking later in the week and I'll be making your recipe. :-)

Anonymous said...

Wow! Great recipe~ very inspiring. I love your photos as well, works of art in themselves.
~J

Mary Ann said...

Those look absolutely marvelous. You completely inspire me!

Bonbon Oiseau said...

these look wonderful alexa! i love the thin slice of figs laying acorss the top---perfect for the coming fall!

Anonymous said...

These bars look healty and powerful!!! And the're beautiful...

Love it!

Mike of Mike's Table said...

I make granola bars like this every 2 weeks or so with whatever fruit I have handy. I never would have thought to try figs in the mix--I'll have to give this a shot in the next upcoming batch!

Deeba PAB said...

I was like...wow...aren't these beautiful! Tyring to gently grab one off the screen Alexa...I'll have to head to Mike's to find a fig substitute. No fresh figs here :0(...

Dee said...

I'm being teased by figs every where I look! We can't readily get them fresh In Malaysia :(

Alexa said...

Janice,
Thank you for your nice comment. I am glad you liked them.

Mary Ann,
I feel the same way when I visit your blog!

Bonbon Oiseau,
We have had wonderful orgarnic figs around here... I get my Fall fix early this year.

Leonor,
I love it when something healthy also taste incredible. It's always a bonus. Thanks for your visit.

Mike,
I am so glad you liked this idea. I'm making blueberry ones next.

Deeba and Dee,
I'd send you some but I don't think they'd survive the trip... such a fragile fruit.

bee said...

what a fantastic recipe!!! i have to try this once i am done with my box of store-bought granola bars.

cindy* said...

how pretty! i love figs.

Nic said...

Ooooh, looks fabulous! I only discovered that I liked figs last year, how sad is that? LOL!

test it comm said...

Those fig bars look so good!

Alexa said...

Bee,
These are softer than granola bar but so much better in my opinion.

Cindy,
Thanks!

Nicisme,
My son thought he didn't care for them, and then he tried these bars...

Kevin,
Thanks for your visit!

maybelles mom said...

wow, I am really liking your blog. I will add you to my reader.

Anonymous said...

these look wonderful, i am excited to givethem a try!
enjoyng your blog!

Bridget said...

I love these! Thank you for a beautiful post. I liked it so much I've included it in my TOP 27 Healty Snacks on the internet post www.theinternetchef.biz

Thank you for sharing!!
Love, Bridge.

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