September brings shorter days, cooler nights, and an abundance of figs on my backyard tree. And that means fig bars: a homemade orange and ginger infused fig jam sandwiched between a tender, buttery crust and a crispy crumbly topping.
As much as I love everything about my backyard in Queens, I think my favorite part about it might just be my fig tree. I love getting home from work and plucking a few super ripe figs right off the branch for a late afternoon snack, or packing some as a treat for lunch the next day. I live in what used to be my grandparents’ house, so while it was my uncle Cliff who originally planted it, my grandpa took so much joy in having a fig tree in the yard. To this day, fresh figs always remind me of him. But as much as I love eating them fresh, our tree grows way more figs than I could ever eat myself. So every year I cook a whole bunch of them down into a jam and spread them onto a buttery, crumbly crust to make homemade fig bars.
I really love figs, but I actually happen to not at all be a fan of fig newtons. I find them way too dry and slightly bland. When I went about coming up with a recipe for homemade fig bars, I knew I wanted to stay away from anything that resembled a fig newton. So I ended up taking elements from other recipes to make a frankenstein of a homemade fig bar. There’s a super luscious fresh fig jam that’s flavored with orange and ginger. And a crust that’s tender and buttery like shortbread. And my favorite: a crumbly topping, one you’d see on a blueberry or apple crumble, adds the perfect textural bite to the bars. The result is a fig bar that’s all at once sweet, buttery, tender, a little crunchy, and super melt-in-your-mouth.
HOMEMADE FIG JAM
I use my abundance of fresh figs to make homemade fig jam every year. And these fig bars are only one of the ways in which I use it. Some years I go through the canning process to sterilize and properly seal jars of jam to make them shelf stable and good for up to a year. But other years, the jam doesn’t last much through the end of the fall. I spread it on toast and use it for PB+Js, or serve it on top of waffles or with a cheese plate. This year, we used it for another recipe that’s sure to become a staple: fig jam and ricotta flatbreads.
This jam is a simple one. Halve the figs and throw them into a pot with a little fresh orange zest, juice and ginger. Orange is the perfect acidic note to balance the sweetness of the fig, and ginger is a hint of spice to remind you of fall flavors soon to come. Then cook the figs down until they’re super soft and the jam is thick. I add a little bit of sugar to help the sweetness along, but it really doesn’t need much more than that. While fresh figs are available in the supermarket in late August and September, you can also try making this recipe with rehydrated dried figs (here’s a great how-to). Or, if you don’t feel like going through the hassle of making jam or don’t particularly like figs, you could also try this recipe with just about any store-bought jam.
THE PERFECT CRUST
While the fig jam is undoubtedly the star of these fig bars, the crust is certainly a close second. The crust is rich and crumbly, and you’ll taste and feel the butter the moment you bite into it. It’s super simple to throw together: butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, and an egg cut together to form a coarse, sandy mixture. It might seem a bit too crumbly at first, but the moment you press it into your baking dish, it will come together. Plus, this crumbly dough does double duty. Half gets pressed into the dish and forms a strong layer of crust, while the other half stays as a crumble and gets sprinkled over the top, giving these fig bars the perfect texture and bite.
Homemade Fig Bars with Crumble Topping
Ingredients
For the fig jam
- 6 cups fresh figs, halved
- 1 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
- 1 orange, grated and juiced
- 1/4 cup sugar
For the crust
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the fig jam
- Add the figs, grated ginger, orange juice and zest to a medium nonstick pot and bring to a simmer over low heat. Add the sugar in small incriments, tasting to make sure it doesn't become too sweet.
- Allow the jam to cook low and slow until all the liquid has evaporated and the jam is thick enough to stick to the back of a spoon. If the figs pieces have not broken down completely, you can crush them with a potato masher or the back of a spoon.
- Allow the fig jam to cool completely before using. Any extra jam can be properly canned, or stored in an airtight container in the firdge for up to 2 weeks.
For the fig bars
- Preheat oven to 375. Parchment paper and butter a 9×13 baking dish, leaving parchment hanging over the edge to remove the fig bars easier later.
- Wisk together flour, baking powder, salt, white sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Then add the cubed butter and cut with a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
- Press half the mixture into the perpare baking dish, pushing down on it to from the crust.
- Spread 2 cups (or more) of the fig jam in an even layer over the crust. Top with the remaining dough crumbles and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
Top site ,.. amazaing post ! Just keep the work on !
Very good!!! The recipe list is missing salt and I wish it included some nutritional facts, but it came together very easily and is amazing with a cup of tea. I had my own fig jam lying around and am happy to have found this recipe to use it all (approx 20 oz).
Thank you so much! You’re totally right, some salt in these would be perfect!