SS&GF: Simply Sugar and Gluten Free

Ingredients

For the crust:
• ½ cup dried apricots, tightly packed
• boiling water – enough to cover apricots
• 1 ½ cups whole, raw almonds
• zest from one lemon
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
For the fig jam:
• 3 cups of water
• 6 tablespoons frozen, unsweetened apple juice concentrate
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 pound figs, washed, stemmed, and halved
For the ice cream:
• 2 cups vanilla sugar free ice cream or light chocolate sugar-free ice cream (you can use more or less depending on your preference)

Instructions

To make the crust:
1. Place apricots in a heat-proof bowl. Bring water to a boil. Pour over apricots and cover. Let apricots sit for 2 hours. (Start cooking the figs after the apricots have been soaking for 1 hour.) After 1 ½ hours, preheat oven to 350 degrees so you can bake off your crust.
2. Once apricots are finished soaking, drain off water.
3. Fit food processor with a steel blade. Place almonds in the food processor. Pulse several times to break them up and then process until they reach a coarse consistency. Add apricots, lemon zest, and cinnamon. Process until nuts are finely ground and ingredients stick together.
4. Spray an 8x8 pan with non-stick baking spray. Using a spatula or waxed paper, evenly press crust into the bottom of an 8x8 pan.
5. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until edges just start to brown.
For the fig jam:
6. Put water, apple juice concentrate, and vanilla extract into a large, heavy bottom sauce pan and mix well.
7. Add figs, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until figs have cooked down, reduced by ¾, and sauce has thickened and is slightly syrupy.
8. Transfer to a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse several times, then process until it becomes like thin jam.
To make the bars:
9. Pour figs over warm crust and return to oven for 30 minutes or until the edges are bubbly.
10. Let cookies cool, wrap, and place in the freezer for at least 4 hours or overnight.
11. Let ice cream sit out for 20 minutes, or until softened, and spread across the top of the frozen cookie bars.Return to freezer for an hour or until frozen.
12. Cut into desired size and serve.