Bready or Not: Oatmeal Fig Bars (aka Homemade Fig Newtons)
These are like Fig Newtons, but better. They are thicker. Fresher. The top has the slightest crunch.
This recipe is what happened after I thought I was buying dates to use for my breakfast truffles. It took me a few weeks to notice I really had figs in my cupboard. Whoops?
An awesome kind of whoops!
I doubled the original recipe so I could use as many figs as I could. My immersion blender pulsed the fruit on the stovetop. Everything came together fast and easy. I used the double sided parchment-aluminum foil for easy clean up, too.
These bake up with golden, crispy tops while the rest of the bar is dense and chewy. These things are hearty. They’d make for a good breakfast or snack for kids or adults, and I imagine they would even freeze well.
I’m not sure how well they keep beyond a day, though. My husband took them to work and they kinda vanished. All that remained were crumbs and rave reviews.
Recipe doubled and adapted from Alida’s Kitchen.
Bready or Not: Oatmeal Fig Bars (aka Homemade Fig Newtons)
Ingredients
For fig filling
- 2 cups dried figs about 16 ounces, chopped, stems removed
- 1 cup water
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
For dough
- 3 cups oats old fashioned or quick oats, or a mix
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar packed
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks, melted
- 2 eggs room temperature
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan, bring figs, water, and lemon juice to a boil. Simmer for several minutes until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and let it cool for ten minutes or so.
- Use a food processor or an immersion blender to process the fruit unless smooth. Be very careful--hot fruit splatter is not fun! Set it aside to cool as you ready everything else.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 casserole pan with parchment paper and apply nonstick spray. Melt the butter and let it cool a few minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the butter and eggs and stir until just combined.
- Press half of the oat mixture into the prepared baking dish. [Handy tip: use a sheet of wax paper and a heavy glass to compress the layer.] Evenly spread the fig mixture to the edges.
- Use your hands to compress the remaining dough into small discs and pieces, and set this on top as evenly as you can. Gently compress it again.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until lightly browned at edges. Completely cool on wire rack.
- OM NOM NOM!
Middle grade readers need extra love
I unabashedly love middle grade books, and I love that my beloved story “Red Dust and Dancing Horses” is going to be in the 2016 Young Explorer’s Adventure Guide. This is an anthology of science fiction stories for readers 8 and up, and it’s all about strength and diversity. Nancy Kress says it very well on the promotional video:
The Kickstarter campaign has just started. It’s very affordable to get DRM-free copies of the 2015 book and the new 2016 one, and the print books are included starting at $20. Do you have a middle grade reader in your house? Know one? Want to help out a library? Please check out the campaign and consider a contribution!
The fundraiser ends on September 26th. I’ll be sure to post on the progress!
Read MoreSunday Quote heads home from Worldcon
Read More“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
~ Maya Angelou
Hear Me Speak
If you’re not able to attend my reading at WorldCon today, you can still hear my weird, raspy voice. I’m in the latest episode of the Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcast: The Wonders and Politics of Steampunk w/ Cherie Priest, Beth Cato, and Jaymee Goh.
It’s an interesting discussion. We talk about representation, whitewashing on covers, and some of the political issues around steampunk. There are a LOT of issues. We could have talked for hours on the subject, I’m sure, and as it is, the full broadcast is over an hour!
—
If you want to read my words instead, I talk about some books I recently read and enjoyed over at the What Writers Read. Particular favorites: Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho and The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard.
Read MoreBready or Not: Biscoff Oreo Blondies (Redux)
This week, as I dash off to WorldCon, I share a re-do of a Biscoff Oreo Blondies recipe I first featured on my LiveJournal back in 2013. I modified it from the original Peanut Butter Oreo Blondies at Crepes of Wrath.
But this time when I made it, I modified it more. MORE OREOS. MORE CHOCOLATE CHIPS. MORE HAPPINESS.
I love Biscoff spread (also known as Speculoos at Trader Joe’s). It’s crack in a jar. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s cookie butter: yes, really, the consistency of a nut butter, but made of cookies.
Yeah. This is not health food. It ain’t gluten-free, either.
If it’s paleo, I want to join that tribe.
If you don’t like Biscoff (BLASPHEMER! BEGONE!) or can’t find it (though it’s at a lot of Wal-marts, Targets, and World Markets), you can substitute nut butter for this recipe, too. Not the natural type, though. You want it moister.
Oh yeah. I used Double-Stuf Oreos, too. Because those are the best kind.
The end result is a luscious, thick, chewy bar that’s like a cookie on steroids. Cookie butter does that to baked goods. It’s magic.
Mix up the add-ins if you want. Use dark chocolate. Use different kinds of Oreos or different cookies all together.
Live dangerously. And scrape clean that Biscoff jar when it’s empty.
Bready or Not: Biscoff Oreo Blondies (Redux)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, melted
- 2/3 cup Biscoff spread or other cookie butter brand
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups Oreos roughly crushed
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350-degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil or parchment and apply nonstick spray.
- Whisk together your flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the sugars and melted butter. Add cookie butter and mix to combine. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition, then the vanilla extract. Gradually add in the flour mixture, mixing until just moistened. The dough will be very thick. Fold in most of the Oreos and chocolate chips; save some to make the top pretty, if you want.
- Press the thick dough into the pan as evenly as possible. Press in the remaining Oreos and chips.
- Bake for 24-30 minutes, until the blondies are lightly golden and set.
- Allow them to cool completely before cutting into bars and serving. These will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, if they last that long.
- OM NOM NOM!
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