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Ingredients
- Whole Wheat Pastry Dough
- 1 1/4 C whole wheat flour
- 1/2 C all-purpose flour
- 1/8 t cinnamon
- 1/3 C sugar
- 2 T dark brown sugar
- 1/4 t salt
- 6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter
- 2 T whole milk
- 3/4 t vanilla
- Fig Raspberry Filling
- 1 lb fresh ripe figs
- 3 T water
- 3 T honey or sugar, to taste
- zest of 1/2 orange
- 1 t lemon juice
- 3 oz raspberries (about 3/4 C, loosely packed)
Preparation
Step 1
To prepare the pastry dough, place the flours, cinnamon, sugars and salt in a food processor and process to combine. Cut the cold butter into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients. Pulse the mixture until the butter is in very small pieces about the size of grains of rice. Combine the milk and vanilla and add. Process until the mixture begins to gather in large clumps around the center of the food processor blade.
Pour the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, gather it into a cohesive package and shape it into a flat rectangle. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled or overnight.
For the Fig Raspberry Filling, cut the stems off the figs and chop coarsely into small chunks. Place them in a saucepan with the water, honey or sugar and orange zest. Cook on medium heat until the mixture comes to a full simmer. Lower the heat and cook the fruit slowly and gently for about 15 – 20 minutes or until the fruit is jammy, stirring every few minutes and adding a bit more water if necessary to prevent scorching. Add raspberries and continue cooking for another few minutes until the raspberries have softened and broken down into the fig mixture. Take off the heat, add the lemon juice and cool completely. Store in the refrigerator to set up.
When ready to assemble the bars, remove one of the Whole Wheat Pastry Dough packets from the refrigerator, place on a lightly floured piece of parchment and let it sit a few minutes to take off the chill. (The dough is ready to roll out when it doesn’t crack when you try to roll it out.) Dust the top of the dough lightly with all-purpose flour and roll out to a rectangle measuring 15” x 5”. Work quickly, running an offset spatula under the dough to make sure it isn’t sticking to the parchment and dusting lightly with flour whenever necessary. When you have the finished rectangle, lift the parchment paper with the pastry dough onto a baking sheet and refrigerate. Repeat with the next piece of dough.
Once the pastry has been rolled out and slightly chilled, remove one rectangle at a time and continue to work on the parchment paper. Lift the rectangle up to be sure it isn't stuck to the parchment. When the dough feels pliable, place half the fig raspberry jam on one half of the dough lengthwise, leaving a small border on all three sides. Gently lift the length of the parchment furthest away from you and bring it up and over toward you to fold the dough over the fruit. Gently guide and press the dough into a finished rectangle. If the dough is too cold and cracks slightly, just pinch it together as it warms up. Take a fork and press the edges together to seal. Lift the parchment onto the baking sheet and place in the refrigerator while you repeat this process with the second batch. Chill the formed pastry for about an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a sharp knife and cut slices in the pastry about every inch or so but leave the pastry in tact and do not separate the slices. Place the baking sheet in the lower third of the oven and bake for about 25 minutes. Cool completely, then slice the bars again to separate. These are best eaten the same day. They soften over time.