Healthy Fig Bars (Gluten-Free) are full of flavor and nutrition! Soft and deliciously chewy in every bite!
Hello, friends!
I’m so excited to repost this recipe today! While the pictures and the recipe aren’t new, I did create a how-to video, and I also updated the how-to photos to make it clearer.
I first posted this recipe in 2017, a year before I had my first baby. Since we had our own babies, life has been crazy, and I’ve relied on the Costco fig bars to get us by. But I always wondered if my kids would like these fig bars as much as the neighborhood kids I gave some of these originals to. The verdict? A resounding yes! KK eats them for breakfasts and snacks, and although KJ kind of got sick of too many fig bars in general, he likes them too!
I’m so glad I bought a HUGE bag of figs because I’ve been making these on repeat and the kids devour them. And listen, I’ve got nothing against the Costco version. I don’t think you have to make everything from scratch. But I do feel good making these for the kids because there is fewer sugar and fewer carbs overall. The almond flour balances out the cookie, creating a more filling hunger-squashing bar, which is a win! So, it will definitely be worth making them from scratch if you chose to!
How to Make Healthy Fig Bars (Gluten-Free)
The first steps are to use your food processor to make the dough. No pulsing is required. Just spin until the dough forms, then stop and put it in the fridge. Then wipe out the food processor and make the fig filling.
Next, you’ll roll out your dough, which will likely take several times of measuring, cutting, and re-rolling to get it about 5-6 inches by 8-10 inches. Once your dough is evenly thick and the right size, it’s time to fill it!
You’ll fill the dough along the center of the rectangle of dough. Then fold up the sides. Using your fingers to press the seams together. When you are done with that, flip the log onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. You’ll notice the sides will be cracked. Use your fingers to smooth them out.
Brush with butter and bake! I find the best luck when I cut them straight out of the oven. To minimize waste, I’ve always cut my bars thinner, but you could do the traditional “fig newton” size cookie as well!
Swaps and Substitutions
- Almond Flour – do not substitute. The recipe is formulated using almond flour only.
- Coconut Flour – oat flour or garbanzo flour will work here. You just want a really absorbent flour to help everything stick together.
- Butter or Ghee – use dairy-free butter or coconut oil is fine!
- Maple Syrup – you could try subbing another liquid sweetener like agave or honey, but it may change the flavor and even texture a little bit.
- Baking Powder – do not omit
- Eggs – I have not tried making an egg-free version. If you try it, let me know! I believe it would work just fine using a flax egg instead of a real egg but have not tried it.
- Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Sea salt – adjust as needed.
- Lemon juice – could sub vinegar or leave out if necessary
- Black Mission Figs – I had a really hard time finding black figs this time around (whereas in 2017, I got them at Trader Joe’s). I had to order them on amazon. But the truth is, if you don’t care about the “classic” fig bar look, then any dried fig will work of any color.
How to Freeze and Store Healthy Fig Bars (Gluten-Free)
To Store: After cooling completely, store in an air-tight container or bag in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Or store on the counter in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.
To Freeze: After cooling completely, freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Defrost under refrigeration.
Healthy Fig Bars (Gluten-free)
Equipment
Ingredients
For Cookie Crust
- 2.5 cups almond flour blanched
- 3 tablespoons coconut flour or oat flour
- 6 tablespoons melted salted butter or ghee reserve 1 teaspoon aside
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg
For fig filling:
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup black mission dried figs remove hard stem at the top
Instructions
- Add all ingredients for the cookie into a food processor and process until a dough forms. Remove the dough from the food processor and set it in the fridge to chill while you make your fig filling.2.5 cups almond flour, 3 tablespoons coconut flour, 6 tablespoons melted salted butter or ghee, 1/3 cup maple syrup, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 egg
- Add all ingredients for the filling into the food processor (make sure you remove the hard knob piece at the top of the fig stem) and process until a well-combined paste-like substance forms. Basically, when you feel like you wouldn’t mind eating it.1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon sea salt, ¼ teaspoon lemon juice, ¼ cup maple syrup, 1 cup black mission dried figs
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Spray a large piece of parchment paper with cooking spray and place HALF the dough on top of it. You are now going to fold over the parchment paper from straight end to straight end (see the video.) I have Costco parchment paper, so it’s 15 inches across when I folded it over it was 7 inches across which is perfect because you want to roll out the dough to be about 5-6inches by 8-10 inches. Alternatively, you can use two pieces of parchment paper on top of each other, but the dough is too sticky to roll the dough out directly with your rolling pin. You’ll need to trim the edges, so you have a flat piece as shown in the picture above and the video.
- Now add half your filling down the center of the piece of dough. Then, fold the two edges inward toward each other and seal them the best you can. When you place it on the baking sheet, place it with the seam side down!
- Repeat with the other half of the filling and dough. If you have more dough left over, just make one log without filling as I did!
- I highly recommend brushing that reserved one teaspoon of butter over the top of each log and then sprinkling each log with sugar and cinnamon!
- Now you can bake at 350F for 22-25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. The log without filling will also help you determine when they are done because when you insert a toothpick into it, and it comes out clean, you know they are done!
- Cut them immediately when they come out of the oven, then let them cool completely before placing in an airtight container and storing them in the fridge.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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I use to love fig newtons, i Have forgotten about them and haven’t had one in yrs. These look great! Im the opposite when it comes to heat. I love it hot hot hot all the time. I dread the approach of fall. But i do love the apples and pumpkins
These look SO good! P.S. I have a bunch of muffins I’m bringing you this weekend. Need extra mouths to feed and Matt refuses to eat pumpkin. Who doesn’t like pumpkin?
Okay, then I’m bringing you fig cookies!
The flooding and storm stuff has been heartbreaking, hopefully Irma does not hit as hard as they are predicting. These looks awesome! I think these would be a great treat for the babes (and me).
I devoured all things newton as a kid. LOVE that you recreated them!
I like the fact that you are everywhere.
These sound really good, especially since I have a bunch sitting on my counter waiting to be used!! I may have missed it but your directions say to turn oven to 350 degrees but for how long do they bake for?! Thanks
Hi Heather! I recently switched recipe cards (the square part that holds the recipe) it looks like the full recipe didn’t transfer over when I did that. I updated it and the full instructions should be there now! Thanks for letting me know!
Thank you!!
I want to make these but I only have fresh frozen figs.. Will it work?? Or will I need to cook them down first?
I feel like you could just defrost them in the refrigerator over night and then proceed with the recipe!