I came across today’s recipe a few weeks ago and it immediately brought back memories of all of the fruit bars and cookies I ate growing up. I was especially fond of Fig and Fruit Newtons. I’m not sure if they still make them all now, but back in the day I remember there were several different flavors of Newtons—like apple, strawberry, raspberry, apricot, blueberry and maybe even cranberry.
Whatever the flavor, I would eat these little squares of yum by the handful (sweet tooth regulation was not my strong suite). I think my mom probably figured out that I was the one raiding the cookie jar and a severe Newton famine ensued in our home. The dearth of Newtons must have helped me kick the habit, because I don’t think I’ve had one in years.
After making these fruit bars last week though, I was a little tempted to raid the cookie jar again. Graham was also a fan of the bars and said that they reminded him of one of his childhood favorites—pop-tarts. Because we were both eyeing the bars, we helped keep each other accountable and they lasted a while longer. The bars also have a few more redeeming qualities then our old favorites (a mostly whole wheat crust and a lightly sweetened fresh fruit filling), which made us feel less guilty about indulging.
Besides replacing raspberries with blackberries, I pretty much stuck to the original recipe for these bars, so it is probably best to send you to the source for instructions. The Pastry Studio blog also has some great “bench notes” which helped me tremendously when I was making the recipe. Hope you enjoy these bars as much as we did!
Tasty Easy Healthy Green Recipe Ratings:
| Recipe Report Card | Notes About Recipe Ratings |
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Tasty Rating Five Chefs (Gourmet Fare!) |
The bars had a tender and flavorful crust and were packed with a yummy fresh fig and blackberry jam. |
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Easy Rating
Two Easy Chairs (A Long March…) |
I’m not super experienced when it comes to pastries, so the crust was a little challenging for me. At first it was too dry and wasn’t coming together and then I think it was a little too wet. I added some more flour when rolling it out and that seemed to solve my problem. |
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Healthy Rating
Two Apples (Surgeon General’s Warning!) |
While these are pretty healthy as far as cookies or pastries go (mostly whole wheat and real fruit), they still have a good amount of butter and are not something to eat all the time. |
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Green Rating
Four Leaves (Mother Earth Approved) |
The fruit was all local and organic and most of the rest of the ingredients were organic. |
It looks like a fab combination. Ijust love how the jam is just wanting to ooze out and stain everything it touches.