Dried Fig and Nut Bars
Try our delicious energy bar recipe, a great way to use dried figs and fuel up for the day. Check it out!
TYPE
LEFTOVERS
LEVEL
EASY
TOTAL TIME
2 H. 30 MIN.
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole, toasted, skinned hazelnuts (about 5 ounces)
- 1 cup whole, toasted almonds (about 5 ounces)
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 1/4 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (from 1 medium orange)
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, lightly crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 8 ounces dried black Mission figs, stemmed and thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
Method
- Heat the oven to 300°F. Coarsely chop hazelnuts and almonds and set them aside. Coat a 10-inch springform pan with butter and flour and set aside. Stir together flour, cocoa powder, orange zest, fennel seeds, cinnamon, and cloves in a large bowl until evenly mixed. Add nuts and figs and stir to coat.
- In a small saucepan, stir together sugar and honey and place over low heat. Increase heat to medium and cook, without stirring, until mixture reaches 245°F on a candy thermometer, about 6 minutes. Immediately pour over nut mixture and, working quickly, stir until dry ingredients are coated (the mixture will be very thick). Transfer to the prepared pan and, with moistened fingers, press evenly into the pan.
- Bake until mixture has puffed slightly and has a toasty aroma, about 35 minutes. (The mixture will be soft and tacky to the touch.) Transfer to a rack to cool to room temperature, at least 1 hour. Remove from the pan and cut horizontally into thirds, then cut each third into 1/2-inch-thick bars (you should have about 36 bars).