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An ancient fruit mentioned numerous times in the Bible – the fig – adds moistness and sweet flavor to a simple cookie bar recipe. Include chopped peanuts and you have a crunchy and sweet dessert.

Since figs offer so many health benefits, I try to eat them often, especially when my father’s fig trees have loads of the fresh fruit.

A good source of fiber, figs also offer a source of potassium, calcium and iron, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dried figs are also rich in antioxidants and many other nutrients.

If you have some preserved or even dried figs you’ve stored, you can use them in this tasty cookie bar recipe. Here’s what you’ll need for the fig nut bars:

1 cup of flour
½ cup of packed brown sugar
½ cup of butter (softened)
¼ cup of orange juice
1/4 cup of evaporated milk
1 egg
Powdered sugar
½ cup chopped figs
½ cup chopped peanuts

To begin with, place your butter in a large bowl and mix it by hand or with an electric mixer for about a minute until it’s creamy.

Mix in your brown sugar until the butter and sugar are smooth. Next, add your egg to the butter/sugar mixture, mixing thoroughly. Now, you’ll mix your orange juice and milk together in a separate container. Once ready, add the orange juice/milk combination and flour alternately to the butter/sugar mixture.

Once the flour and liquids are mixed well into the butter/sugar mixture, add your chopped figs and your chopped peanuts. Spread the batter onto a greased pan measuring about 13 x 9 inches or one slightly smaller.

Bake the fig nut bars for about 25 minutes and remove from the oven. Allow the bars to cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.

Then, sift powdered sugar on top and slice into bars. Depending on how large or small you slice the bars, the recipe can make 20-30 bars.

Figs add moisture and sweetness to many dishes, certainly to these bars.
– Bobbie Whitehead