Mar 10, 2014 In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, he is determined to use the one lonely toofie to its full potential, eschewing purees and astonishing gnawing his way through things I’d think were impossible to conquer monotoothfully (new word) – like giant hunks of pineapple, for example. In effort to coax the other pearly whites from beneath the surface, and to help him develop his eating skills despite his lack of chompers, I try to provide lots of chewy snacks. I had one of these fig bars the other day (which are really good, by the way, and have my dietitian’s stamp-of-approval on the ingredient list) and Theo went crazy for it. So I decided to have a go at making something similar from scratch! This is my version of Fig Newtons, but much, much better (taste-wise and nutritionally). I made them whole wheat flour, and the filling is sweetened only by dates. I actually think the filling is sweet enough to scale the sugar in the dough back to 1/3 cup, especially since their intention is to be a healthy snack not a cookie. Feel free to tinker… The dough is a bit finicky, but forgiving. You’ll find it soft when rolling it out, and it may stick to the parchment, but it’s easy to press it all together with your fingers. And popping it into the fridge for a few minutes makes it much more workable. To make the filling, you simply soak dates (or dried figs) in boiling water until soft, then puree with some fresh raspberries – I like the bit of tartness the berries offer to balance the caramel-sweetness of the dates. I adapted the dough from this recipe. The bars freeze exceptionally well and thaw quickly for grab-and-go snacks.
Ingredients
1 cup chopped, pitted dates, packed boiling water 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla 1/4 tsp salt 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 1 cup raspberries (thawed, if from frozen)
Preparation
