Fig Crumb Bars

By Addie

Very excited to cut into this dessert when the pastry will be cool. Note that either the temperature or suggested baking time has a typo. At 375° (in my VERY accurate oven), the pastry took on a deeply golden color after 40 minutes. And at that, the recipe's suggested top crust color is "pale golden". In any event, the pastry looks gorgeous, and I'm very excited for dessert tonight! Timing or temperature issues aside, this pastry is wonderful. I cut the 8 inch square into 6 large bars. Last night, it was one large bar with a little vanilla ice cream. The next bar will be in the morning with a cafe mocha. For sure, a keeper of a recipe. Oops, in re-reading the recipe, I realized that I made a mistake in the filling. I never removed the orange zest strips before pureeing. So guess what...in the hopefully many times I make this treat, I will NEVER remove the zest first. It pureed very smoothly, and I loved the noticeable hit of orange.

Ingredients

• FOR THE FILLING:
• Unsalted butter, at room temperature, for the baking pan
• ..................................
• 10 ounces dried Calimyrna figs, stemmed and quartered
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 strips orange zest, plus 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ..................................
• FOR THE CRUST AND TOPPING:
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut up
• 1 large egg

Preparation

Step 1

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil; butter the foil.

2. Make the filling: In a small saucepan, combine the figs, brown sugar, orange zest, and ½ cup water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the figs are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove and discard the zest.

3. Transfer the fig mixture to a food processor, add the orange juice and salt, and process until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool to room temperature.

4. Make the crust and topping: In a second medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Using a fork or a pastry cutter, mix in the butter and egg until a crumbly mixture forms.

5. Make the bars: Transfer half the flour mixture into the prepared pan, pat down evenly, and spread the filling over it. Crumble the remaining flour mixture on top, leaving large clumps. Bake until pale golden, 55 to 60 minutes; let cool completely on a wire rack. Lift the bars out of the pan, using the foil to help, and cut into 16 2-inch bars.

6. Storage suggestion: Keep the fig bars at room temperature, between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container, for up to 5 days.