Specialty fig bars

I'm sure that regular readers have figured out that I am not a gluten-free cook / baker.  I love making bread (not that I've done it in a while...) and I might die if I had to give up pasta or tortillas permanently.  However, an old coworker from the Daley Center was having a baby shower, and she has a gluten intolerance, so I made these for her party.  AND THEY WERE DELICIOUS.  

My friend Faron sent me a link to her friend's food blog, She Said Said He, which boasted a tasty looking recipe for homemade gluten-free Fig Newtons.  Ordinarily you would not think that this would sound delicious, but I urge you to look at their beautiful photos and think again.  

The bars were amazingly easy, once you find all the wacky ingredients.  Gluten-free all-purpose flour, blanched almond flour, agave nectar, grapeseed oil...  Yeah.  But the dough was a snap to whip up, and the fig filling was easy in the food processor.

First, mix together the dough ingredients.  The ingredients are the aforementioned Four Weird Things, plus sea salt, baking powder, baking soda, molasses, and vanilla extract.  You chill the dough and then roll it out like this:

Then you make the fig filling by putting dried figs (I used fresh, so they were a little too moist, but I couldn't find dried, I swear!), lemon juice, and vanilla into the food processor and blending.  Spread the fig filling out over half of the dough, then fold over to cover.

You score some marks with a pizza cutter so it's easy to break off bars when you're done baking, then you bake until the dough is cooked through but still somewhat moist (i.e., not burned).

I gave one to Dave when they were done, and he was really enthusiastic about them.  He asked, "What is this?  Can I have another one?"  I think he was surprised that they were gluten-free, too.  They were a hit with my old coworker, and honestly, I definitely have to bake these again.  Kudos to the folks at Said She Said He, and thanks for a great recipe!!