If your dried fruit is particularly dry, you will want to soak it a bit before making the bars. Ten minutes in hot water will do the trick. Once the fruit has sufficiently soaked, drain it well.

Grind the nuts and seeds until they have become a chunky meal. Photo: Kate Williams

As the fruit is soaking, grind the nuts in a food processor. I’ve used a mix of raw pistachios and sesame seeds. (If you’d like to toast the nuts, make sure to let them cool completely before grinding.) Pulse the nuts in the food processor until they’ve turned to a meal. I like to have some distinctive pieces in my bars, so I leave them a little chunkier. If you want the nuts to be fully incorporated into the bars, pulse them a little longer—just be sure to stop before they turn into nut butter. The nuts won’t grind much smaller once you’ve added the fruit, so make sure they’re at a good consistency before moving on.

Add the dried fruit and any seasonings to the ground nuts and continue to pulse until the mixture turns into a paste. Photo: Kate Williams

Add the soaked and drained fruit to the food processor along with a pinch of salt and any additional spices you’d like to add. I love the combination of figs and cardamom, so that’s what I’ve used here. Depending on the potency of the spice, you’ll want to add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon. Continue to pulse the mixture in the processor until the fruit has pureed and the mixture has formed a mass on the side of the processor.

Transfer the fruit paste to a parchment-lined 8x8 baking dish. Use wet hands or a rubber spatula to press the paste into the pan. Spread it evenly across the pan and smooth the surface out flat.

Press the paste into an 8x8 baking pan to shape the bars. Photo: Kate Williams

At this point, the bars will be too soft and sticky to cut, so it’s best to place the whole pan in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes to an hour. Once the mixture is firm, pull the bars out of the pan (using the parchment as a handle) and transfer them to a cutting board. For Lara Bar-sized bars, cut into 12 even rectangles. If you’d like to get more creative, you can cut the bars into any shape you’d like.

For Lara Bar-sized bars, cut into 12 even rectangles. Photo: Kate Williams

Recipe: Smoky DIY Beef Jerky

Makes about 8 ounces

Note: This recipe is easily doubled. If doubled, you will need 2 cooling racks and 2 rimmed baking sheets.

Ingredients:

1 pound flank steak, trimmed of any large pieces of fat
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 1/2 teaspoons Demerara sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons mild chile powder
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

Instructions:

Place steak on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze, uncovered, until very firm (but before ice crystals form), 30 to 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the salt, sugar, smoked paprika, chile powder, chipotle chile powder, cumin, and salt together in a small bowl.
Once the steak is firm, transfer it to a cutting board. Using a very sharp knife, slice the steak into 1/4-inch thick strips across the grain. (The grain is very easy to see on a flank steak; its long fibers (the grain) are distinct.) If the steak softens up too much as it is being cut, place it back in the freezer to re-firm for 15-20 minutes.
Transfer the sliced steak to a medium bowl and coat thoroughly with the spice mixture. Rub the mixture into the steak using your hands. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 24 hours.
The next day, spray a cooling rack with nonstick oil spray or grease it with a little vegetable oil. Place the cooling rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. Preheat oven to its lowest temperature (aim for 200 to 225 degrees).
Spread the steak slices across the cooling rack. The pieces can touch, but they shouldn’t overlap.
Place steak in the oven and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Bake the steak until the slices are dark, dry, firm, but still pliable, around 3 hours.
Let jerky cool to room temperature and store in a ziplock bag. Homemade jerky will not last indefinitely; eat within a couple of weeks.

Recipe: DIY Fig and Pistachio “Lara Bars”

Makes 12 bars

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