Red Fife Fig Bars

We've updated a childhood favourite with our Whole Grain Red Fife Flour, making these nostalgic treats even more flavourful and delicious. Expect the same soft, cakey texture and tender crumb as the original. 

Red Fife Fig Bars
~ adapted from Serious Eats

Dough
10 tbsp (140 g) butter, cold and cubed
1/2 cup (110 g) brown sugar
1/2 plus 1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp (30 g) honey
1 tbsp apple juice
2 large egg and 1 large egg yolk
2 1/4 cups (335 g) Whole Grain Red Fife Flour

Filling
12 oz (340 g) dried figs, stems trimmed
1/3 cup (100 g) unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp apple juice
1/2 tsp orange zest

To make the dough, place butter in a food processor and process for a few minutes until fluffy, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary. Add brown sugar, baking soda, salt and honey and continue processing for a few minutes until very fluffy. Scrape down the bowl. Add apple juice, egg, egg yolk and process until smooth. Slowly sprinkle in the flour and pulse until well combined. 

Turn dough out onto plastic wrap, shape into a disc and chill for an hour in the refrigerator.

To make the filling, in the same food processor bowl pulse together figs, applesauce, apple juice, and orange zest until roughly chopped. Then process into a thick and smooth paste, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Scrape filling into a medium sized ziploc bag and set aside until needed.

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Roll dough between two large pieces of parchment paper into approximately a 15-inch wide rectangle. If the dough becomes too soft to work with, place in fridge or freezer for a few minutes. The dough will puff slightly when baking so you want to roll as thinly as possible without it breaking. Cut dough into four 3 1/4 inch strips. 

In the corner of the Ziploc bag, cut a 1/2 inch opening. Pipe the filling down the center of each strip. Fold one side of the dough over the filling, pressing slightly, and continue rolling the dough the rest of the way over. The dough will overlap a little, press lightly to seal.

Gently loosen the log from the parchment with an offset spatula, slide it underneath to lift the log and transfer onto a prepared baking sheet. If it breaks you can press the pieces back together. Flatten the tops by gently pressing down to flatten. Repeat with remaining strips of dough and filling. 

Bake the bars for about 15 minutes, until they are puffed and firm, and not too golden brown. Immediately cut into 1-inch pieces with a sharp serrated knife. Let cool completely and transfer into a container, where they will further soften.