Easy Fig Pecan Bars #CreativeCookieExchange

Sticky, chewy, fig pecan bars are the perfect treat with a cup of tea or an ice-cold glass of milk. Baked up in a large pan, this recipe makes enough to share, but they also freeze beautifully so you don’t have to.

Sometimes when I am looking for inspiration, I like to do a recipe search in a foreign language. If it’s one I don’t speak, I’ll use Google Translate first, to find the key words (and the word for recipe!) and off I go down the rabbit hole of an entirely different internet world. It’s quite fascinating. Think about it. That's the world those native speakers inhabit daily.

Even when it’s a language I do speak - English for instance - using the search term “British” or “Australian” along with my key words can reveal recipes I would never otherwise have found because often the same sorts of treats are called completely different things.

For instance, years ago, when we first moved to Australia, I discovered that our US cookie bars, that is, cookies that are baked in one pan and cut into squares or rectangles, are known as slices there. Like our bars, slices come in all flavors and sizes.

This month my Creative Cookie Exchange group is sharing cookies that are great for a bake sale, so my mind immediately went to bars (or slices!) They are so much easier even than drop cookies or roll cookies when you need to bake more than one dozen.

I was feeling flush with fresh fig preserves, having just made a new double batch from my grandmother’s recipe, so I did a quick search for “jam slice” and turned up, I kid you not, 31,700,000 results, most of which seemed to have coconut. So then I tried “jam bars” and got even more results: 68,300,000, most of which seemed to be made with oats. Not that the US bars didn’t have coconut on occasion or that the Australian slices didn’t use oats from time to time, but there is definitely a bias the other way. I find it all most intriguing. Yeah, I know, I know, I’m sad. On the other hand, I made you some excellent fig pecan bars today.

Easy Fig Pecan Bars

After all that searching, what I like to call researching, I ended up adapting a Taste of Home recipe they call Winning Apricot Bars. They are the perfect after school or bake sale treat! Use your favorite preserves or jam if you don’t have fig.


Ingredients
3/4 cup or 170g butter, softened
1 cup or 200g sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 150g finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup or 65g roughly chopped pecans
1 jar (10 to 12 ounces) fig preserves (or sub your favorite preserves) (about 1 3/4 cups) 528g

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and line a 13x8-in or 33x20cm pan with baking parchment.

My homemade fig preserves have whole figs in them so I used a pair of sharp kitchen scissors to cut them into bits, right in the jar. If you are using jam or fruit preserves in which the fruit is already broken down, you will not need this step.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beating briefly in between additions and scraping down the bowl.

Fold in the finely chopped pecans.

Press two-thirds (about 530g, if you have a scale) of dough onto the bottom of your prepared baking pan.

Spoon the preserves onto the dough and spread them out evenly.

Mix the roughly chopped pecans into the remaining dough and crumble over the preserves.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown, turning the pan around halfway through to make sure it cooks evenly.

Cool the fig pecan bars completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 24 bars to serve.

Enjoy!

• Ricotta Mini Chip Cookies from the Spiced Life
• Butter Cookies with Mocha Frosting from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Easy Fig Pecan Bars from Food Lust People Love
• Cocoa Tahini Cookies with Sesame Crunch from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Anzac cookies from Flours and Frostings

Creative Cookie Exchange is hosted by Laura of The Spiced Life. We get together once a month to bake cookies with a common theme or ingredient so Creative Cookie Exchange is a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board. We post the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

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Butter Cake Muffins #MuffinMonday

These delightful butter cake muffins are my easy take on German butterkuchen. They are made with butter, cream and apples and topped with the traditional sugar and almonds. But you can have these on the snack table in under half an hour.

Traditional butter cake or butterkuchen is, of course, made with yeast although I’ve also come across a few recipes using the more modern rising agent, baking powder. I guess everyone is looking for a short cut these days. But that is what made me think, why not turn them into muffins?

If you want a more traditional butterkuchen and have the time, check out my blackberry butter cake or Brombeere-Butterkuchen. But today is the last Monday of the month and we all know that means Muffin Monday!

Butter Cake Muffins

Tart chopped apple balances the sweetness of these tasty muffins but what really makes them special is the sugar, almond and butter topping. The sugar turns crunchy and the butter soaks in and they are glorious together.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups or 220g flour
3/4 cup or 150g sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 113g butter, melted and cooled, divided
1/2 cup or 120ml whipping cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cored

For the topping:
4 tablespoons flaked almonds

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare a 12-cup muffin pan by lining it with paper muffin cups.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt along with 2/3 cup or 120g of the sugar. In another smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, vanilla extract and 4 tablespoons of the melted butter.

Chop the apple into cubes and add them to the flour. Toss to coat.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until the flour is moistened.

Divide the thick batter between your 12 prepared muffin cups.

Sprinkle the tops with the rest of the sugar and the almonds. Drip the remaining butter over each muffin. Yes, it’s a lot of butter and sugar. Just do it.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove the muffins from the oven and cool them on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Check out the rest of the fabulous muffins my Muffin Monday friends are sharing today:

• Applesauce Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Butter Cake Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Butterscotch Apple Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Sourdough Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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Roast Za’atar Chicken and Eggplant Salad

Not your typical salad, this lovely roast za’atar chicken and eggplant salad combines fresh herbs with succulent chicken thighs and golden fried eggplant, drizzled with a tangy pomegranate molasses dressing.

The day I made this, I came home from the store with the chicken thighs, with a salad in mind. I had some fresh Turkish figs in the refrigerator, a seriously creamy blue cheese, and lots of salad greens. Then I ended up back at the shopping center because I needed to get new visa photos taken. The photographer said they’d be ready in 15 minutes, so I wandered through the supermarket once more.

The bulk spices caught my eye – and my nose – and there on the spot, my whole plan changed. Oh, I’d still do a salad, but it would be a warm one, with za’atar spiced chicken and herbs. Maybe some eggplant? Yes, definitely eggplant. But what sort of dressing then? Pomegranate molasses! Ooooh, I couldn’t wait to get home to make it.

I collected my visa photos – As I told the lady, I looked like a criminal; I hope they renew my resident visa! – and I hurried home.

Roast Za’atar Chicken and Eggplant Salad

This recipe was very much a flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants affair. But fortunately, I wrote it all down and took photos, so I can share with you. It is sooooo delectable. I sent the recipe to my friend, Carolyne, in England so she could make it this weekend. She and her husband enjoyed it as well. I hope you all love it as much as we did.

Ingredients
For the warm salad:
2.2 lbs or 1kg chicken thighs*
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt
3 tablespoons Lebanese za’atar
4-6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 medium eggplant (400g)
small bunch flat leaf parsley, hard stems removed
small bunch cilantro (fresh coriander)

For the dressing:
1/4 cup or 60ml pomegranate molasses (buy the best quality you can find, preferably, no sugar added - or make your own!)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon za’atar

Optional: fresh red chili pepper, minced, for garnish - or sprinkle on a few pomegranate arils - those would be lovely too.

*Note: our chicken thighs are small compared to the ones I can buy back in the US so I count on at least 2 thighs per person.

Method
Warm the molasses in the microwave in a clean jar. Add the other ingredients and shake well. Leave to cool before pouring over salad.

Tip: If you don’t use your pomegranate molasses very often it’s a good idea to keep it in the refrigerator. Sometimes the natural sugars crystalize. If this happens to yours, measure the molasses into a microwave proof bowl or jar and give it a few zaps until it is warm enough to melt the sugar crystals. Allow to cool slightly before adding the garlic, oil and za'atar to make the dressing.

Set the oven to preheat at 400°F or 200°C.

Trim the excess fat off of your chicken thighs and discard. Season the bottom (non-skin side) with a good sprinkle of black pepper, salt and almost half of the za’atar.

Drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil in your baking pan – use an iron skillet if you have one.

Arrange the chicken thighs skin side up in the pan. Season with a good sprinkle of black pepper, salt and the balance of the za’atar. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top of the seasoned thighs.

Roast for about 30 minutes in your preheated oven. (If you have larger chicken thighs, they may need an additional 10 minutes in the oven. You want to reach an internal temperature of 180°F or 83°C.) Baste with the chicken juices halfway though.

Meanwhile, trim the stem off of your eggplant and cut them in fat sticks. Sprinkle with fine sea salt and set aside in a colander to drain.

Remove the chicken from the baking pan or skillet, transfer it to a plate and cover with foil.

Dry the eggplant with a teacloth and fry the pieces in the chicken drippings in the same iron skillet on the stove. Add more olive oil if necessary. You may have to do this in two batches so as not to crowd the pan.

Turn the eggplant as needed to brown it on all sides. Remove the pieces to a small plate when done.

To assemble the warm salad, scatter your parsley and cilantro on a large serving dish. Add the chicken thighs and golden eggplant. Optional: Mince a red chili pepper and sprinkle over the top. Drizzle with the dressing to serve.

Enjoy!

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