Crumbly Fig Nut Energy Bars

Even though we love energy bars made with dates, I don’t always want to just eat dates. So I thought I would try and make some energy bars without them. We both have always loved fig newtons. I even really like eating dried figs straight from the bag (mmmmmmm :)). And, since they are usually pretty sticky, like dates, they seemed like the perfect choice to try. What came out were these delicious energy bars.

They are quite crumbly (as the name suggests), but we’ve found that we really like them that way. The crumble from the nuts goes great with the crunch that you get when eating figs. Since these aren’t made with dates, they have a nice subtle sweetness. Plus an amazing flavor from the combination of nuts and figs!

They have only a few simple ingredients needed to make them:
- dried figs
- raw almonds
- walnuts
- pecans
- ground flax seed
- a little water
The steps to make them are quite easy as well:
- grind nuts into a meal
- add figs, flax, and water
- process until combined
- pack into a pan, freeze, and slice into bars
That’s it!

Crumbly Fig Nut Energy Bars
Ingredients
- 16 dried mission figs (stemmed and halved, 110g or 1 cup)
- 1 cup (150g) raw almonds
- 1/2 cup (60g) walnuts
- 1/2 cup (60g) pecans
- 1/2 cup (60g) ground flaxseed
- 1 tbsp (15ml) water
Instructions
- Add the nuts to a food processor, pulse several times to break them up. Then process, using long pulses, until they're ground into a meal (20-30 seconds).
- Add all the remaining ingredients and process for 45-60 seconds, or until the mixture is sticky and combined, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom a few times as needed.
- Tightly pack into a 8 x 8-inch pan lined with parchment. (The back of a large dinner spoon works well).
- Place the pan in the freezer for 1 hour to set.
- After bars have set, remove them from freezer and slice into 18 bars.
- They can be enjoyed right away, but are much better after having set in the freezer overnight.
- Store in an airtight container, up to 1 week. We usually enjoy them straight from the freezer, but you may need to let them warm on the counter for a few minutes first.