Blackberry Chocolate Fig Bars
Sweet berries, mission figs, and dark chocolate come together in sweet harmony in these blackberry chocolate fig bars – an indulgent treat that’s gooey in all the right places and bursting with complex flavor.
While I typically think of fresh figs as an end of summer/early fall treat, I spotted some at Whole Foods this week, and naturally a dainty basket of delicate, deeply purple Mission figs made their way into my cart.
While those plump, fresh beauties were destined to be stuffed with soft goat cheese and wrapped in translucent prosciutto before baking to caramelized nirvana, they inspired me to dig through the back of my baking cabinet for some dried figs, which I combined with fresh, juicy Marion blackberries, deep dark chocolate, and a sweet oat cookie crumble to make these indulgent blackberry chocolate fig bars.
I thought it might all be a little much – the blackberries, figs, and chocolate – all layered between a rich and buttery cookie crust, but the trio balances each other out incredibly well.
Figs and chocolate are a match made in heaven. Chocolate and blackberries are two peas in a pod. And blackberries and figs are seasonal bffs, so why not combine all three?
I had my hopes, but when they emerged from the oven, these blackberry chocolate fig bars exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds.
The figs add a subtle, earthy, and complex flavor and welcome chewiness that almost delves into caramel territory. The blackberries add a fresh burst of sweet and tangy goodness that cooks down into a near jammy swirl.
And the chocolate… well, I don’t need to sell you on the virtues of rich, melty dark chocolate.
The resultant bars are gooey in all the right places, easy to make, beaming with wonderfully complex flavor, and I hope you’ll be equally smitten!
Blackberry Chocolate Fig Bars
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 9 large or 12 small bars 1x
Ingredients
for the crust/crumble
- 1–1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup rolled (old-fashioned) oats
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room-temperature
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
- 1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at
room-temperature - 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
for the filling
- 1 cup blackberries, halved
- 1 Tbsp organic cane sugar
- 1 Tbsp arrowroot starch¹
- 1/2 cup chopped dried figs
- 2 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, stir together the blackberries, sugar, and arrowroot until combined. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt until combined. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat for another minute.
- Turn the mixer down to low, and add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
- Press
three quarters of the crumble mixture into an even layer in the bottom of the prepared pan. Top with the blackberries, figs, and chocolate. Top with the remaining crumble mixture. - Bake for 30 minutes, until the
crumble is golden brown, and a knife inserted into the middle of the bars comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire baking rack to cool completely. The bars will be easier to slice once they’ve cooled to room-temperature.
Notes
¹ Arrowroot starch is my thickener of choice for pies and fruit fillings. Substitute cornstarch as desired.
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Great for snacking time! Nice recipe!
★★★★★
Laura…have been following your blog for some time. Just moved from NC back to Wash State. Love to try new recipes…any events in area? Are you in Tacoma ? I just moved to Gig Harbor.
Hi, Mary! Thanks so much for following along! We are in the north end of Tacoma, and really love it here. So many good restaurants and farmers markets. I haven’t spent much time in Gig Harbor, but it’s a beautiful place to live! What types of events are you looking for? I can definitely give you some (Tacoma) restaurant ideas as well 🙂
I LOVED THIS!!! They were soooo good and sooo easy to make! My family was so happy with the recipe and I’m so thankfull to have tried it!! I guess that if I do it with strawberries it will be as delicious as with blackberries!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Emilia!! Let me know if you try these with strawberries too 🙂
This recipe is amazing. Making my seond batch b/c everyone is demanding more. Fresh figs in season so have been using those and good dark chocolate. OMG, so good!
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear that! I haven’t tried these with fresh figs ( I was worried the texture might get weird), so I’m glad to hear they worked well for you. And yes, good dark chocolate is always a must! Thanks, Susan!
The texture was great, but it took 60 minutes Vs 30 minutes in the oven
Wow. You sure caught my attention with this intriguing twist on a classic Northwest berry dessert. I’ll have to try it!
Thanks, Mary!! They’re really good 😉
Wow! Those sound, and look, delicious!
You are so inventive! If never have come up with a combination like that, but the pictures made my mouth water!
Keep it up!
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Patty!! <3