Everyday Bar Cookies

For Christmas, my grandmother gifted me her old recipe books. One of which was a fill-it-yourself recipe card book. Which I'm pretty sure doesn't exist anymore on account of the digital storage we utilize everyday. She also gave me a gem titled Homemade Cookies Cook Book published by Better Home and Gardens in 1975. The images in the book are dated and lovely. In the 'Everyday Bar Cookies' section, I located a recipe for Fig Bars. I made them because we had a houseguest, and because I heart baked goods, and because it was my step-sister's Birthday gathering this evening. And I almost always give baked goods for gifts. (Along with other handmade items.)

Fig Bars

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened (I rarely plan ahead so I popped it in the microwave)
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel (I didn't measure, just grated over the bowl)
1 teaspoon vanilla (I couldn't find my measuring spoons, so I used a baby spoon)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups finely chopped dried figs (my wonderful Hubby got mine from Walmart. And I chopped them in my veggie chopper, which resulted in chunks. Which I used anyway)

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, peel, and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; blend into creamed mixture. Stir in figs. Pour into greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool; cut into bars. Makes 32.