Fig & Pumpkin Seed Bars {Gluten Free}

These gluten free Fig & Pumpkin Seed Bars are easy to throw together, freeze well, and are great for children’s lunchboxes and emergency snacks.

I am not the type of mother who hides vegetables in food. I am more the “I know you hate mushrooms. Eat your mushroom risotto and stop whining.” type of mother. This attitude does not seem to extend to fruit as I am more than happy to hide all forms of fruit in baked goods. This may have more to do with me than The Princess though. I hate fruit in cake. Hypocritical? Maybe. Do I care? No.

It has just dawned on me that school starts next week. This means that all manner of snacks are required for lunch boxes and after school. The long, lazy days of leaving the child to forage for herself are over, and I actually needed to think about restocking the freezer. These bars are the first thing I made. They are quick to pull together, quick to bake and freeze really well.

The bars are essentially a mix of dried fruit, ground nuts and seeds, held together with oats (and a bit of butter and sugar). Oats are generally considered to be gluten free if they come from non-contaminated sources. That is they are not processed on the same lines as gluten products or cross contaminated with gluten grains in storage. If cooking for the gluten intolerant it is important to ensure that the oats have not be contaminated, and words to this effect are usually stated on the packaging. If there is no mention on the packet that the oats are gluten free, do not assume they are free from contamination.

You can grind the fruit mix in these bars as coarse or as fine as you like. I prefer to grind it quite fine to hide the figs. These bars stand up well to substitutions, so play with it using your favourite fruit and nuts. If you are packing them for school lunches, then substitute more seeds for the nuts. If you wrap the bars before placing in the freezer they won’t stick together, and there is one less thing to do in the morning.

Most importantly, if you have a fruit adverse child don’t tell them what is in the bars and they will happily eat them. I do.

Print Pin

5 from 1 vote

Fig & Pumpkin Seed Bars {Gluten Free}

These gluten free Fig & Pumpkin Seed Bars are easy to throw together, freeze well, and are great for children's lunchboxes and emergency snacks.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Calories

Author Tania @ The Cook's Pyjamas

Ingredients

• 200 g gluten free rolled oats
• 40 g ground almonds
• 75 g dried figs
• 60 g walnuts
• 40 g goji berries
• 25 g pumpkin seeds
• 100 g unsalted butter
• 100 g rapadura sugar
• 100 ml maple syrup
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 160C (140C fan forced)
• Grease a 20cm x 30cm slice tray and line with baking paper.
• Combine the oats and ground almonds in a bowl and set aside.
• Blitz the figs, walnuts, goji berries and pumpkin seeds to your desired texture in a food processor.
• Add the fruit mixture to the oats and almonds and mix well.
• Melt the butter, sugar, salt and maple syrup in a small saucepan, then bring to a rolling boil.
• Pour the butter and sugar mixture over the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
• Press the mixture into the slice tray. I find this easiest to do with a silicone spatula.
• Bake for 25 minutes until the slice is golden and the edges are starting to brown.
• Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
• Cut the slice into bars whilst still warm, then cool completely in the tin.

Notes

These bars take well to substitutions. Just ensure that your total weight of fruit and nuts or seeds remains constant.
They will last for about a week in an airtight container, but I prefer to freeze them and use them straight from the freezer.
You can also add vanilla extract or spices to the bars if you feel like a change.You can cut these bars to whatever size suits.
I usually cut them into 16 slices but you can easily make them smaller or larger depending on your appetite.

P.S. Looking for other snack  ideas? Try ‘Cheesy’ Vegan Kale Chips or Indian Spiced Roasted Chickpeas.

Save