Martha Stewart Fig Bars

Recipe By : Martha Stewart Living
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Kekse

1 1/2 cups butter -- room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar -- plus 2 tb
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg -- room temperature
1 large egg yolk -- room temperature
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 lemon -- rind; 1 inch strips
1 cinnamon stick
720 g dried black mission figlets -- stems trimmed
1/4 cup cognac
1 large egg -- lightly beaten

Makes 48 1 1/2-inch bars
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, cream the butter, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar,
vanilla, and salt together until smooth. Add the egg and egg yolk,
beating to combine, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber
spatula. Add the flour gradually, and continue beating until just
blended. Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap, and shape
into a rectangle. Wrap the dough well. Chill in the refrigerator
until firm, about 2 hours.

Combine the lemon rind, cinnamon stick, figlets, cognac, 1 cup
sugar, and 2 cups water in a shallow, medium saucepan over mediumhigh
heat. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low; simmer until the
cooking liquid has evaporated, about 30 minutes, stirring
occasionally. Remove lemon rind and cinnamon stick, and let cool.

Place fig mixture in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the
steel blade, and pulse until smooth, 20 to 30 seconds.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and divide in half. On a
parchment-lined work surface that has been lightly floured, roll one
half of the dough into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Trim the
dough to 9 by 12 inches with a pizza wheel or a knife. Cut the
rectangle into three strips, 3 by 12 inches. If the dough is becoming
soft, it may be necessary to chill it again.

Transfer the fig mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a #8 or #808
plain tip. Pipe the fig mixture down the center of each strip. Brush
egg along one of the 12-inch sides of dough. Fold dough over fig
filling to enclose, pressing gently to seal. Transfer to a nonstick
baking sheet lined with a baking mat, seam-side down. Repeat with the
remaining dough and filling. Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350a. Bake until light golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove to a cooling rack. When completely cooled, transfer to a
cutting board, and cut each log into eight 1 1/2-inch cookies with a
serrated knife.

Martha Stewart Cookie Of The Week: Homemade Fig Bar

Ever since its introduction in 1891 by the Kennedy Biscuit Works, the
cookie known as the Fig Newton has been the darling of cookie jars
around the country. The famous treat had its beginning with James
Henry Mitchell's invention of a machine which could simultaneously
make a cookie and fill it with a preserve. The tasty result --in
keeping with Kennedy Biscuit's tradition of naming cookies and
crackers after the towns near Boston--was named Newton after a suburb
of Boston. Though the Fig Newton's recipe is a carefully guarded
secret, Martha devised a home recipe that certainly rivals this
perennial favorite. She uses a small variety of tender fig called
the figlet, available from Valley Fig Growers in Fresno, California.



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Petra in Hamburg, Germany

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