These super kid friendly fig and honey snack bars will be their favorite on-the-go snack, lunchbox addition, and after school munchie!

Fig and Honey Snack Bars

Snow hikes and snacks!

Our mid-January hikes are looking a lot like…well, Michigan in mid-January! Lots of beautiful snow, and my little winter kids just love it! Fresh fruit can be really pricy around here at this time of the year, so I picked up a bag of dried figs at Costco this month and decided to make some fun snacks with them to keep my busy and active kids fueled!

Simple is the name of the game

When it comes to my kitchen projects, snacks do not typically fall under the items that I am scratch making on a week in and week out basis. I just get burned out when I make every single thing from scratch. We utilize some packaged snacks here and there, and, when I do choose to make snacks, they need to be something I want to actually make instead of dread it for fussy steps.

Fig and Honey Snack Bars

Like a hand full of trail mix in a compact, on-the-go bar!

Just some nuts and dried fruit! When I say I like to keep it simple, I mean let’s keep the ingredient list minimal and the steps easy to do! These little honey and fig bars are packed with protein and fats from the walnuts and cashews, and real fruit fiber from the figs. We love using mineral rich raw honey as the sweetener which will also give busy and active kids the carbohydrates they need for energy!

Fig and Honey Snack Bars

Do I have to use the dried figs?

You can use whatever dried fruit you have on hand, or you can leave it out. Cacao nibs would also work here. Figs are a great source of fiber to nourish our digestion, and they are a mineral powerhouse! If you prefer to use dates, those work well here too. Change things up here and there and use chopped dried apricots, apples, or blueberries too!

Fig and Honey Snack Bars

The Method :: Preparing the nuts for the bar mixture

To prepare the bar mixture, you’ll first make a nut flour by blending the walnuts and cashews into a fine meal. It won’t look as fine as flour, but will be small pieces like an course almond flour. Don’t take it all the way to making it a nut butter.

Fig and Honey Snack Bars

The Method :: Mixing the rest of the dough

Once you’ve blended the nuts, you’ll add the honey, peanut butter, salt, and vanilla and blend into a dough. It will look like a cookie dough at this point, blending together into a ball. Then you can fold in the chopped figs. Make them as big or small as you want. You could even fully blend them into the dough if the kids will hesitate at seeing the pieces of them. My kids adore figs so they fight over who has has the one with the most…sounds about right, doesn’t it?!

Fig and Honey Snack Bars

The Method :: The baking pan and baking the fig and honey bars

I got a silicone baking pan a few years back to make fudge easier, and man! This thing is an absolute dream for making anything that you want to cut into bars or bites! You don’t need to use fussy parchment paper or spray the pan. Simply press the mixture into the silicone pan and bake! If you don’t have a silicone pan and want to use a regular 8×8 inch pan, you can line the pan with parchment paper and press the mixture into the pan.

Fig and Honey Snack Bars

The Method :: Cutting the fig and honey bars

The bars will feel soft when they first come out of the oven. Do NOT try to cut them. They will firm up and set as they cool. Let them cool completely before turning them out of the pan to cut. I like to put them in the refrigerator to cool as this lends a very clean and crisp cut. If you have a rolling pastry cutter, this is a great opportunity to use that tool for super even cuts. Otherwise a sharp knife works just as good!

Fig and Honey Snack Bars

Storing the fig and honey snack bars

Your fig and honey snack bars can be stored in an air tight container in the pantry or the fridge for around 3 months. Pack them up for a little sweet snack bite in their lunchboxes. Or, put them in the snack basket in the pantry so the kids can grab them when they need quick fuel before practice. My oldest has been using them after school when she has just a few short minutes before she has conditioning for track this spring, and has really liked them for that.

Fig and Honey Snack Bars
Fig and Honey Snack Bars

Fig and Honey Snack Bars

Renee Kohley – Raising Generation Nourished
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 20 bars

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1 cup cashews
  • 1/4 cup raw honey
  • 1 tbsp nut or seed butter I used peanut butter
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup chopped dried figs
  • Optional up to 1/4 cup grassfed collagen or hemp hearts for added nutrient variety.

Instructions
 

  • Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. I like to use an 8×8 silicone baking pan for this recipe so that I can pop them out easily to cut. A regular 8×8 pan will work, but you'll want to line it with unbleached parchment paper so you can easily lift the final baked product out to cut.
  • Use a food processor or blender to finely blend the walnuts and cashews into a fine "meal" or nut flour. Don't blend to the point of nut butter, but take it as small as the pieces will go. You can see in the image above how mine looks.
  • Add the honey, salt, and vanilla extract and blend until you get a ball of dough. This takes under 30 seconds.
  • Mix in the chopped figs and press the dough into your baking pan. I like to use the back of my measuring cup to make a nice even surface.
  • Bake the snack bars at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until the top and edges are lightly golden. Let the bars cool completely before turning them out to cut into the size you want. I like to refrigerate my bars before cutting them so they are super firm and make nice clean edges.
  • Snack bars should be kept in an airtight container in the pantry or fridge for up to 3 months.

Notes

  • The walnuts and cashews can be swapped for any nut or pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. In fact, change it up here and there to give everyone a variety of nutrients!
  • The dried figs can be swapped for any dried fruit or cacao nibs, or can be left out completely.
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Fig and Honey Snack Bars

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