Soft Baked Fig Cereal Bars

Cream together the Earth Balance and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk together the ground flax and warm water then add to butter/sugar mixture in two installments, blending well after each. Add the soymilk and mix until combined. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining crust ingredients (all of the listed dry ingredients). Add this mixture to the Earth Balance and sugar mixture and mix until a soft dough forms (it will be on the crumbly side). Turn dough out onto a floured countertop and form a smooth ball. Then place the ball in a bowl and let it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Place the figs in a saucepot and cover with apple juice, water and sugar and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Let the mixture cool and then puree the figs, juice and vanilla extract together to form a smooth paste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove half of dough from the fridge and roll it out into a long rectangle. This dough is a little dry so you may want to add a sprinkle of water to help you form a smooth ball before rolling it out. Cover rectangle with fig paste, leaving a one inch border around edges. Set aside.

Roll out the other half of the dough into a rectangle the same size as the bottom, then sandwich the rectangles together, pressing down gently around the edges. Carefully cut it into bars and use your fingers to crimp the edges a little bit.

Brush bars with warm water and add a sprinkle of oats if you like, then bake bars on a lined baking sheet for 25 minutes.