It’s been a really long time since I’ve made a treat like this.
And by that I mean me attempting to copy a food that is usually made in a factory with machines doing all the time-consuming things (i.e. fig newtons).
I remember the first time I made these little cookies years ago in a little kitchen in South America. It’s strange how much that chapter of my life is starting to seem like a forgotten dream. But anyway, I used dried figs for those and a bunch of other things that probably didn’t need to go into them. For these I tried to keep it as simple as possible with pretty basic ingredients.
So our Costco got some fresh figs in stock and I was so excited because, guys, I’ve never….ever…….ever……tried a fresh fig! I know, what is up with that? Although, I think my excitement over them was a little too high because I ended up with way more than I could eat before they started to go bad. The good news is that when life gives you figs, clearly you gotta make some fig newtons!
That’s how I ended up in the kitchen making them and I do this a lot with recipes. I’ll start out thinking it’s going to require no work at all and then an hour later be asking myself why I didn’t at least accept that it’s not one of my faster recipes.
I’m saying this because I’m not going deny that this is a more time-intensive recipe. Of course, I personally enjoy a rainy day project like this and have no problem spending some extra time on a specialty treat like this. I also love a slight challenge and the shaping of these is something that might seem that way to you. However, if you don’t have much time or you don’t like messes, I’ve got a short-cut for you. I used a portion of my dough to make these little thumbprint cookies instead of the bar shape.
Moral of the story, you can still make this recipe even if you have little to no skills in baking. Or if you start out making the fig newtons and find yourself frustrated and pulling your hair out, just know you can try the short cut.
Homemade Fig Newtons
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Yield: about 36 fig newtons
Love fig Newtons? Well these homemade ones are a really fun way to skip the packages and enjoy some baking in your own kitchen.
Ingredients
Filling:
10-12 medium figs, stems removed and sliced
1/2 cup medjool dates
1 cup water
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cookie Crust:
150g (about 1 1/3 cups) rolled oats
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 medium apple, sliced and seeded
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup almond flour
1 cup arrowroot starch (or cornstarch), plus a bit more for work surface
Instructions
Filling:
Add the figs, dates, water, and lemon to a medium to large saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a low boil. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften. Add the lemon juice and sugar and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer, still stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes until it has begun to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. We'll come back to it after making the dough.
Cookie Crust:
Pour the oats into a food processor or blender and pulse until it's ground into something like flour. After that, pour the floured oats into a separate bowl and add the apple, syrup, vanilla, and salt. Blend until completely smooth then pour into the bowl with the oats. Stir together then add the almond flour, baking powder, and starch until the mixture forms a thick dough. (It may seem a bit dry at first but as you continue stirring it should come together.)
Filling Pt.2:
Pour the fig mixture into the blender (no need to wash 😉 ) and blend until completely smooth. Add the chia seeds and vanilla and pulse a few more times then set aside until ready to fill the cookies.
Assemble:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C) and line a baking tray with parchment or silicone pads. On a clean surface spread a small amount of cornstarch and scrape your dough out with a large rubber spatula. Roll out half of dough into a rectangle roughly 1/8 inch thick. cut into strips about 3 1/2 inches wide and use a pastry bag fitted with large tip (or just a spoon) to spread filling in a straight, 1-inch wide, line down center of strips. Fold one side over filling and brush with water, then fold other side to overlap and press down gently to seal. Cut strips into bars and place (fold side down) on baking tray.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove from oven and cool before serving.
Alternative Method:
For a quicker way to make these you can simple roll the dough into 1-inch balls and press them into thumb print cookies. Fill them with a spoonful of the filling and bake on a parchment lined tray for 12-15 minutes. Cool before serving.
ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL! All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D750 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G. You can find out more in my INTRO POST.
And, by the way, to all the minnows out there, my intro post did a huge $0.21. The key to success on Steemit is to be consistent and persistent. Click on the link below for some great tutorials on how you can also succeed on the steem blockchain:
Master Toolkit: Steemit Resource Guide Illustrated by @sndbox
Also, a huge shoutout to @rigaronib for designing my logo!
If you're looking for more recipes check out some of my other recent posts!
Also, I've been starting to vlog in case you missed it.
Do you want to learn more about me? Click here to see a recent @wadepaterson interview with me - 20 questions with @gringalicious
Good to see the recipe containing fig as I see a very less recipe of it. I hope it is good in taste as well.
@introvert-dime It's true, figs are so underappreciated. Thanks!
🤤🤤🤤🤤
@naduu 😀
Amazing post
@ateeqbj 😀
Great work as always @gringalicious :D
@still-observer 😀
Whoa!! Deconstructed fig newtons ! They almost look like raviolis :) I have to try this
@goldmatters 😀
Oh my goshhhh it’s gluten free too! These look amazing!! 😍😍
@therawfoodie 😀
How do you always do this? serve great recipes and make incredible pictures of it. it looks like a photo shoot for food.
@fsfblender Thank you so much!
fantastic pictures
@makesushi I really appreciate it.😀
@gringalicious Looking YUMMY... I'll must trying this... :)
@sh1980 😀
That short cut is pretty awesome, I'm glad I can make these with no skills in baking :)) thanks for sharing!
@emma-hs Thanks!
Hi dear! Wow! These cookies are incredible especially with fig newtons, I like the fig so much! I bought the some cookies from the supermarket but I think the one which you made are the best.
@creativewoman 😀
Why did you name it Newton?
@doctorhealth It's a popular cookie here in the States. Hmmm, I don't knoe why they're called that.😂
i like you recipe. deliciuos
@wendyth16 Thanks!
I love fig bars...I'm surprised you never had a fresh fig. They are delicious. At my parents house we have a fig tree so every year we would have lots of fresh figs right off the tree they are so soft and sweet it's delicious. Super cool to make your own fig newtons though 😀.
@alphasteem 😀
howdy there @gringalicious! these are amazing, from what I can see they are totally healthy also but have to be sweet and delicious, great job! girl!
@janton 😀
Figs are delicious, but I can't eat many of them at once. One or two at a time is just fine.
@paparodin I'm glad you like them too!
Great recipes https://steemit.com/mgsc/@alfayez/top-10-rules-for-success @gringalicious
@alfayez 😀
Not too bad!! haha
@ahmedcation 👍😀
thanks for the new blog. that is great and nice photography.
@ashike 😀
These are my Achilles heel! I love these! Been eating these since I was a kid. Never made them before, but now I have three fig trees in my garden, I am going to be making these!
@cecicastor That's so awesome. So glad you're going to try them!
Very incredible thanks for sharing this special recipe of yours so fantastic to check that out :D
@blazing 😀
AJ picked your post @gringalicious for his #TOP5 FOOD POST. Visit AJ's FOOD ROUNDUP to view where your post is ranked.
You can also join The-Kitchen Discord Server for more food experience.
Hello! Delicious as always :d
@martymnp 😀
i try every day to visit your post to see your work and i try to do it , have nice time :)
@maad666 😀👍
Mmm this recipe sounds good !! 🤤
@cp123 😀
wow its great
good luck
@farhadchef Thanks!
I can eat them by the dozen! YUM!
@tesscooks4u 😀
Wow! These cookies look so delicious! :) I love fig, is one of my favorites fruits. So I will definitely have to try this recipe :)
I made another recreation of your recipes, three days ago. I hope you liked it! :)
@sweetcarol Thank you so much!
Wow! These cookies look so delicious! :) I love fig, is one of my favorites fruits. So I will definitely have to try this recipe :)
I made another recreation of your recipes, three days ago. I hope you liked it! :)
@sweetcarol It's so sweet of you to say so.