Fall in love with these autumn-inspired crumb bars featuring a ruby red fig, apple, and vanilla jam between layers of a sweet and salty oat and brown sugar crumb. They are sweet and salty, tender and crunchy, buttery and fruity, all in one delicious bite.

These rustic, messy-delicious crumb bars aren’t winning any beauty pageants, but when it comes to flavor and simplicity, they’ll score top marks every time. With a simple oat-based dough that’s used as both the base and the crumb, and a layer of homemade fig, apple and vanilla jam sandwiched in between.

Squares of Fig, Apple & Vanilla Crumb Bars on a marble background, randomly arranged with a bowl of figs and a few cut figs scattered around.

I wanted to make a fall flavored bar cookie of sorts. I knew I wanted a brown sugar and oat crumble with some sort of vanilla-infused fruit filling, but I couldn’t decide if I wanted that filling to be fig or apple.

Fig and vanilla? Or apple and vanilla? Which sounds better to you? That is the million dollar question.

I ended up making a pan of each to bring to ceramics class with me, hoping to crowdsource the decision and help me make up my mind. Ultimately, my classmates liked both versions equally for different reasons (y’all were really no help at all here, lol).

In the end, I did what I often do when I can’t decide: I did both, combining the fig and apple together into a single multi-fruit spread that’s fruity and flavorful and fabulous for fall.

It’s really the best of both worlds.

Fig, Apple & Vanilla Crumb Bar pulled apart in the foreground to show the jammy texture of the fig apple layer.

Bottle of Amoretti Vanilla Bean flavoring sitting amidst messy cut squares of Fig, Apple & Vanilla Crumb Bars.

As a finishing touch, I added an ample amount of vanilla bean flavor in the form of Amoretti Natural Vanilla Bean Artisan Flavor Paste, which I used in both the jam and crumb layers. It’s made from the entire vanilla bean, so it’s got a lovely, well-rounded, multi-dimensional vanilla bean flavor that compliments the fall flavors of these bars beautifully. It’s a great, economical alternative to whole vanilla beans or expensive vanilla paste and far more flavorful than just plain vanilla extract.

Amoretti’s Artisan flavor line was originally developed for use in cold applications like ice creams, though it can be used in any recipe that calls for vanilla extract or vanilla paste. Follow the usage guidelines if you’re unsure how much to use, but I found it to be pretty similar in strength to vanilla paste, and slightly more concentrated than vanilla extract. Adjust to taste as you see fit!

There’s no denying the fruit is the star here, but the vanilla plays a crucial supporting role, propping up the brightness of the fruit with a sumptuous and flavorful foundation.

The hint of vanilla was exactly what this recipe needed to go from ordinary to extraordinary. Why vanilla has become associated with plain or boring, I’ll never understand, as it is anything but: sweetly floral, creamy, aromatic and syrupy, it rounds out bitterness and enhances sweetness with a depth and complexity unmatched by any other flavor.

Stack of three Fig, Apple & Vanilla Crumb Bars squares on a pink plate, with fresh figs and a bowl of figs in the background.

Don’t let their rustic appearance fool you, these crumb bars are simply delightful.

They may not be as fancy as a Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake, but they are perfectly satisfying in their own right.

Crumb bars like these (also, Dulce de Leche anyone?) are one of my favorite easy-to-whip-up desserts in a pinch. Granted, this one takes a bit more effort because of the homemade jam component, but the results are well worth it.

I love how simple and unassuming the bars look, but once you take a bite you realize they are anything but. In fact I’d rank them right up there with some of my all-time favorite desserts (and that’s saying something).

Sure you won’t be able to eat one without crumbs going everywhere, but in my opinion the mess only adds to the appeal.

Cut squares of cookie crumb bars with a layer of purple fig jam and crumbly oat topping, on a marble background.

Make Ahead Bake Ahead

You know what else I love about crumb bars?

The keep beautifully, making them a perfect make-ahead dessert.

Granted they’re not exactly sturdy enough for shipping across the country, but they’d be great to make a few days before a holiday party when you know you won’t have time the day of.

You can also just make the jam part even further ahead of time, up to 2 weeks in fact. Bring the jam to room temperature before spreading it on the oat dough pressed into the pan.

Because I always get asked: yes, they can also be frozen! Bake as directed, let cool completely then cut into bars. You can freeze them directly in the pan, then cover or transfer to an airtight container for up to 2 months.

Remove stems from figs, then cut into a fine dice.

The jam manages to blend the unique characteristics and tastes of two very different fruits, with both flavors shining equally bright in the final jam. This isn’t a fig-flavored applesauce, or an apple-fortified fig jam, but rather a true melding of the two.

I used purple Mission figs here; the deep purple skins and pink flesh produce a gorgeous ruby-hued jam. If you used brown or green figs the final jam will be just a delicious, but a bit more muted in color.

Because fig skins don’t completely break down, you want to be sure to chop the figs up pretty finely to ensure there aren’t any large chunks of fig skin the final jam. You can also pulse the fruit briefly in a food processor to chop it up finely (just don’t fully liquify it).

Since I wanted a smooth-ish texture to my jam, without any identifiable chunks of fruit, I opted to grate the apple—the fine shreds break down easily as the jam cooks, adding flavor and natural pectin that results in a perfectly thick and sticky jam.

The recipe will yield more jam than you actually need for the bars. The extra jam can be saved for another use, it’d be lovely on a cheese board or spread on your morning toast.

Two square Fig, Apple & Vanilla Crumb Bars sitting on top of a bowl of fresh mission figs, one cut in half to show the vibrant inside.

One square fig apple oat crumb bar with a bite taken out of it to show texture, more cut squares in the background.

While the recipe is written for a simple homemade fig and apple jam, but if you happen to have another kind of fig jam handy (this Fig & Vanilla Jam, or even something like the Fig & Honey Jam or Tart Cherry Apple Jam from my book), feel free to use that here instead.

You can also use (gasp!) store-bought jam. I doubt you’ll be able to find a fig apple jam in any store, but a plain fig jam or fig butter would work just fine here. Mix some Amoretti Natural Vanilla Bean Artisan Flavor Paste into the store-bought jam to recreate the flavor combo I’ve used here.

The base crumb recipe is incredibly versatile, and any jam, spread, or thick sauce will work as the layer in between; I’m thinking blueberry jam in the summer, pumpkin butter for the holidays, dulce de leche or Nutella spread for a super sweet treat, or even something like this decadent chocolate raspberry jam would be lovely indeed.

Overhead, bowl with flour, brown sugar, spices, and cubes of softened butter sprinkled on top; bowl of oats on the side. — Combine flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and spices in a mixing bowl, sprinkle cubes of softened butter over top.

Overhead, mixing bowl after combining the first set of ingredients, butter should be broken up into pea-sized pieces. — Combine flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and spices in a mixing bowl, sprinkle cubes of softened butter over top.

The base and crumb topping are actually the same dough, divided: about 2/3 is pressed into the bottom of the baking pan, and the rest is crumbled on top.

You want to press the bottom layer of dough firmly into the pan, compressing the oats and soft dough as much as possible, otherwise it’ll be too crumbly when you cut into it (and we want crumbly [these are crumb bars after all], but just in the top layer). The base should be sturdy enough to be able to pick up a square without it collapsing in your hands.

I happen to have a plastic fondant smoother tool from way back when I took a cake decorating class, and even though I haven’t done a fondant-covered cake in the last 8 years, I’ve kept the tool for this very reason: it’s the perfect tool for pressing crumbly dough mixtures into square pans just like this one. The smooth plastic doesn’t stick, and the square corner makes it easy to compress even the very edges.

Another tip? Put your empty baking pan on a scale. That way, when I tell you to use about 2/3 of the mixture in the bottom layer, you don’t need to eyeball it. Two thirds of the crumb mixture is almost exactly 300g. Whatever is left (about 150g in this case) is the perfect amount for sprinkling on top so that you end up with a nice thick and crunchy crumb layer that doesn’t completely cover up the gorgeous ruby red jam underneath.

Baking for a crowd? Double the recipe as written to make in a 13-by-9-inch baking pan, or quadruple and bake in a half sheet pan (13-by-18-inch).

Single square Fig, Apple & Vanilla Crumb Bar on a pink plate with crumbs scattered around.

Overhead, messy arrangement Fig, Apple & Vanilla Crumb Squares on a marble background with fresh figs, a few cut in half, and a knife on the side.

Closeup, one square Fig, Apple & Vanilla Crumb Bar in the foreground showing the purple layer of fig apple jam and messy oat crumble on top.

In the oven, the crumb topping doesn’t visibly change much; there aren’t any strong visual cues or physical checks (toothpicks, etc) to know when its done. The jam will be bubbly, if not visibly, definitely audibly, and the crumb topping will get slightly more golden brown in color (but only slightly). But it’s pretty subjective, just know that it’s nearly impossible to overbake this one, and even slightly underbaked the results are soft and delicious.

I found 35 to 40 minutes to be the sweet spot for me (I used a light aluminum baking pan). Slightly less time will result in softer bars, slightly more will give you an even crispier topping. If you’re baking pan has a dark non-stick finish, you may want to pull them a few minutes earlier to avoid the bottoms from getting too brown.

I hesitate to call this recipe completely fool proof (just because I’ve seen some things that make me question humanity as a whole) but you’d be really hard-pressed to mess this one up by under or overbaking it.

Squares of crumbly Fig, Apple & Vanilla bar cookies on a piece of crinkled parchment on a marble background.

Plate with stack of three Fig, Apple & Vanilla Crumb Bars, with a bowl of fresh figs and one cut fig in the foreground, bottle of Amoretti Vanilla Artisan flavor in the background.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

Amoretti Natural Vanilla Bean Artisan Flavor Paste: This is a very unique product from Amoretti, and the recipe is written for this specifically. It’s most similar to vanilla paste, which can be substituted in the same quantities as listed in the recipe. You can also use vanilla extract, though I recommend increasing the quantity slightly as vanilla extract isn’t as concentrated as the Artisan flavor paste.

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Old-Fashioned Oats: Old fashioned or rolled oats are quite different from quick cooking or instant oats, and even more different still from steel-cut oats. Substituting a different kind of oats will change the texture of the crumb.

All-purpose flour: Since this recipe doesn’t rely on the flour for any ‘structure’ or gluten development, I think you’d be perfectly fine substituting an all-purpose gluten free flour blend in its place.

Cinnamon & cardamom: I added just a hint of spices to the oat mixture to enhance the fall feel of the bars, but didn’t want to make it too pronounced lest it overpower the subtle fruit and vanilla notes in the jam layer. Feel free to leave these out entirely if you prefer.

Fresh figs: The recipe is written for fresh figs, but frozen will work here too. I used deep purple mission figs which gave my jam a gorgeous ruby-red color, but brown or green figs would work just fine here too (the final jam will just be less vibrant).

I personally wouldn’t use dried figs, but if it’s not fig season and you simply must make this recipe, try using about 1/3 the weight of the fresh as called for (so 3.5oz or so) with the additional weight made up in liquid like water or apple juice. You can soak them in liquid ahead of time for a few hours to soften, then drain and proceed with the recipe as written.

Apple: I used a honeycrisp apple here, but any kind will work fine so use your favorite!

Yield: 16 bars