Fig Newtons

What did you all do last night? Oh, you wanna know what I did? I went to a Bon Jovi concert.  I don't care if that ages me I LOVE Bon Jovi!  I have to say that it was one of his best concerts so far.  It was a Tuesday night after all but he didn't have a cover band which was totally awesome.  It was 2 1/2 hours of nothing but Jon.

OK I'll stop now.

Now, on to a very important recipe.  Why so important you ask? Well if your kids love Fig Newtons as much as mine does then this might be life changing for you.

Not only are these little fig bars delicious they are something you can feel good about your kids eating.  Sometimes I have trouble finding figs but I found some dried figs at Trader Joe's and they worked perfectly.

I hope you get a chance to make these sometime soon.

Fig Newtons

Recipe from Tracey's Culinary Adventures via America's Test Kitchen Holiday Cookies

Ingredients

• 8 ounces dried Turkish or Calimyrna figs, stemmed and cut into quarters
• 2 cups apple juice
• pinch of salt
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I used white wheat)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line an 8x8 inch pan with tin foil so that the edges hang out of the pan, so you can use them as handles when the Newton's are done. Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.
3. In a small saucepan add the figs, juice and salt. Cook over medium heat until the figs begin to break down until the mixture is soft and syrupy, stirring occasionally. This takes about 15-20 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool a little before adding them to a food processor with the lemon juice. Pulse several times until the mixture reaches a jam-like consistency.
4. In a small bowl add both flours and the salt. Set aside.
5. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the butter and sugars and beat for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
6. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until blended.
7. Add the flour mixture and mix on low until mixed well.
8. Measure out 3/4 cup of the dough and set aside. Put the rest of the dough in the prepared pan and smooth out with your hands.
9. Bake about 20 minutes.
10. Meanwhile roll the leftover dough out and form into an 8x8 inch square. It will be easier to roll the dough between plastic wrap. Freeze the dough until firm.
11. When the crust has finished baking, spread the fig "jam" over the cooked crust and top with the frozen dough square.
12. Bake for another 25-30 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
13. Transfer the pan to a wire rack until cool, about 2 hours.
14. Use the tin foil "handles" to lift it from the pan and cut into squares.