Homemade Blueberry Cookie Bars

Ok. Ya’ll need to stop whatever you are doing right now and make these blueberry newtons.

I will admit, I was a little skeptical about this recipe. Upon first glance, it looked a little daunting (wouldn't it be easier to just buy Fig Newtons?). Yes, there are a lot of ingredients. And yes, the list of instructions is quite long. But let me tell ya, THESE ARE SOOOO GOOD. Like so good that I had one, left the rest in the California Giant kitchen, came back to my computer to edit the pictures of said blueberry newtons, went back to the kitchen 30 minutes later, and they were all gone. All of them. Not even a crumb was left. The rest of the day, all of my co-workers were asking what all of the goodness in the kitchen was. And if the amount of ingredients is still overwhelming you, i'll let you in on a little secret. It's called the iBotta app and yes, it's a life saver. I downloaded the iBotta app and now I save money on all sorts of items at the grocery store! It was a HUGE help when shopping for this recipe.

So if you have an hour or so to spare this weekend, please please please put these on your list of things to-do. Trust me. You’ll thank me later ;)

Blueberry Balsamic Fig Newton (makes 24 newtons)

Ingredients:

Dough

*this is definitely a healthier option for fig newton dough, so feel free to substitute regular sugar for the coconut palm sugar, and butter for the coconut cream for more of an indulgent treat!

1 cup coconut palm sugar

½ cup organic coconut cream (just the top cream of the coconut milk can, not the water below)

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 cup oat flour (can just blend oats until flour consistency)

2 cup whole grain flour + more for rolling dough

1 egg

1 T vanilla extract

1 tsp almond milk to combine if needed

Egg wash

1 egg + 1 tsp water or milk

-Topping

¼ cup oats

Pinch of coarse sea salt

Blueberry Balsamic Jam

2 ½ cup California Giant blueberries

1 cup Grade A maple syrup

½ cup balsamic vinegar

Tools needed

Set of measuring cups

Set of measuring spoons

Mixer

Small baking pan (10x10, 8x8 - will just need to trim dough if needed)

Rolling pin

Parchment paper

Medium saute pan

Instructions:

Using a hand or stand mixer, mix coconut cream and sugar together.  

Add egg and vanilla and continue to mix on medium/low speed.

Sift together all dry ingredients and slowly add to wet mixture as it mixes.

Using extra flour, lightly dust ball of dough. Divide in half.

Run your hand under water and flick water onto counter.  Place a piece of parchment paper on top. (this helps the parchment paper not to slide while you are rolling your dough!)

Begin rolling one half of dough to make a 10x10 square. Place another piece of parchment paper over top and finish rolling out. Repeat with other half of dough.

Freeze both sheets of dough for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place blueberries, balsamic, and maple syrup in a medium saute pan over medium/high heat.

Bring to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes.

Spread jam out on a piece of parchment paper or silpat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Remove dough from freezer and remove parchment paper except for one side on the bottom layer. Place the bottom layer down into bottom of 10X10 baking pan, parchment side down.

Spread jam evenly on top of bottom dough layer.

Place second sheet of dough on top of jam and lightly brush egg wash on top. Top with ¼ cup oats and coarse sea salt.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees Farhenheit.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

Cut into small squares and enjoy!