I know I say it about far too many recipes, but these are a real favorite. In fact, I seldom bake them much in advance of serving them because I can’t be trusted around them—they are that addictively good. This is loosely based on a recipe shared by my old friend Jayne Sutton, who’s been attending my classes for over 30 years.

Although fig bars are standard American fare, fig-filled cookies are also very traditional in Sicily, where they are called cucidati. I’ve decided to merge the two and make a fig bar that is shaped like the industrially-made one, but has some typical Sicilian seasonings in it for extra flavor.