It’s National Nutrition Month and we wanted to demystify your questions about foods with dried figs in them. Today, we’re tackling the question: are fig bars healthy and its cousin, are fig rolls healthy.
Fig rolls and bars are the quintessential cookie from childhood. They’re made with cookie dough that bakes up soft and enfolds the figgy filling in the middle. They’re tender and chewy and a fig lover favorite! You can find the fig bars on store shelves, or you can make them yourself. You’re in luck as we have a healthier fig bar cookie recipe ready for your next baking project!
So, Are Fig Bars Healthy
In case you have a different fig bar or fig roll recipe you prefer, here are a few ideas to make it healthier. So, are fig bars healthy and are fig rolls healthy? Let’s dive into the data.
Flour Power
Swap out part of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour or spelt flour. Whole wheat pastry flour has less protein than a whole wheat flour, so it bakes a lighter crumb. Usually when swapping in whole grain flour, try only 1/3 of the flour required as whole grain, leaving the remainder as all-purpose. This levels up the nutrition while minimally impacting the final bake while also adding texture and flavor too.
So Much More Than Sweet
Granulated sugar and brown sugar are typically in fig bars and they do more than just sweeten the cookies. Sugar adds structure to the dough. So, it plays a necessary part in the recipe. Coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index and can stand in for granulated sugar and brown sugar with the caveat that the bake will be a bit different since the molecules in coconut sugar are different, but you’ll find the cookies to be a satisfying treat that tastes delicately sweet.
Fruit Forward
In the recipe linked above, apple juice plays a big part as it cooks down and cooks into the figs until they are very soft and syrupy. Then, the syrupy figs are processed with lemon juice until jam-like. What’s incredible about this is the fruit acts as the sweetener, thereby cutting the amount needed in the recipe to only what is required for the cookie layer. Mission Figs have the familiar fruit flavor of fig bars and rolls from childhood. It’s a deeper fruit flavor, rich in color and taste. Don’t overlook Golden Figs though. The amber-colored fruit has a delicate flavor and sweetness that’s a bit tangy.
