Fig Newtons were a staple in many lunch boxes when I was a kid. I ate them because I thought I was eating a healthy, good-for-you snack. But I was so wrong about that! The store bought Fig Newtons are packed with disgusting GMOs, tons of refined sugars, and artificial flavors. It’s pretty much the opposite of what a healthy snack ought to be!
Then, a few weeks ago, I came upon fresh organic figs at my local Whole Foods and that’s when it hit me – I had never tasted fresh figs before in my life! I had always eaten them dried. So I bought a few to try and I loved them. A few days later, I got a whole bunch in my CSA share. And when those finished, I found a 2 lb. box at Costco for such a great price that I HAD to buy them!
So you see, me and figs were meant to be. And when life gives you so many figs, you make homemade fig newtons ☺️ You can also make these with dried figs, but the fresh ones are in season right now so take advantage of that. I was scared to try this recipe at first, because I am not a skilled baker in any way, but they were surprisingly easy to make! Here is a link to the many health benefits of Figs!
Filling Ingredients:
- 1 pound fresh figs
- 1/4 cup raw sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/4 cup orange juice
Dough Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 stick butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup raw sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
Cut figs and put them in a pot with orange juice, cinnamon stick, sugar and a cup of water. Let that boil until water has mostly dried, and its a syrupy consistency. It took me about 45 minutes on medium/low heat. And in case you’re wondering, I left the skin on. I’ve heard the skin makes the fig jam taste yummier!
During this time, sit back, relax, and enjoy the heavenly smell of the figs and cinnamon wafting throughout your house. Just kidding. Enjoy it while you get to work on the dough!
After water is mostly dried up, blend the figs in a food processor to get a smooth paste.
Dough:
• Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
• Chop up the softened butter and mix it with sugar in a separate bowl until soft and fluffy.
• Add in vanilla, egg, and orange juice.
• Slowly mix in dry ingredients and blend until dough forms.
• The dough is easier to handle when a little chilled. I put mine in the fridge for about 30 minutes, before rolling it.
• I rolled out each section individually to make a total of 3. Each roll should be about 12 inches long and 3 inches wide.
• Put the fig filling down the center, and make it about 1 inch wide. Resist the temptation to overstuff them, otherwise you’ll have a hard time closing them.
• Fold over the sides, and press them down gently to make sure cookie doesn’t open.
The little roll in the middle was made using all the left over dough from the other three. No point in wasting perfectly good dough!
Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
The rolls should be slightly brown when done. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
This was the only picture of the filling I managed to take because we were too busy eating them!
Simple as that! They tasted very similar, but better than the store bought ones. I will be making more of these in the future, and packing them in my daughter’s lunchbox.
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