Homemade Fig Newtons

Sticking with the theme of the week, I made some Fig Newtons. I’m sure they’re still loaded with sugar and all sorts of crap, but by not being coated in a layer of chocolate, they always seemed like the healthy alternative. I was kind of a weird kid and actually loved Fig Newtons growing up.

The dough for these cookies is very good. When they first come out of the oven, they’re a bit crispy, but the next day they’re nice and soft. I felt that my cookies were a bit doughy and I would have liked the figgy filling to shine a bit more. If I made these again, I’d make less dough for the same amount of filling. I’ve those thoughts in the recipe below. If anyone makes these, let me know what you think of the ratio.

When I was buying the figs, I asked the employee at Trader Joe’s what the difference between the black and green ones was (I didn’t even know there were different colors of figs until then!). He told me the black ones were sweeter. I had no idea which would be better for this recipe, so I used 1 lb of green and 1 lb of black figs. Feel free to use whatever you have on hand.

Print Save

Fig Newtons

Yield: ~40

Ingredients:

For the Dough
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon or orange zest
1 large egg white
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For the Filling
2 lbs fresh figs
1/4 cup sugar
Juice of half a lemon

Directions:

Make the dough
Cream together the butter, sugar and zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, for 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Scrape down the bowl and paddle.

Add the egg white and vanilla and beat in. Scrape down the bowl and paddle again.

Add the flour and beat on low speed until the dough comes together.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Make the filling
Cut the figs in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp with a spoon. In a medium sauce pan, combine figs, sugar, and lemon juice. Mash mixture a few times with a potato masher or fork.

Cook mixture over medium-high heat until bubbling and sugar has dissolved; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes, until it has reduced by about one-third and is beginning to gel. Set aside until completely cool.

Assemble the Fig Newtons
Place racks in middle and lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12 x 16 rectangle. Cut into 4 equal strips, each 12 x 4 inches. Spoon a line of filling down the center of each strip. Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges together. Using a serrated knife, slice each log on the diagonal into 10 cookies. Place each cookie on the parchment-lined baking sheets, seam side down.

Bake, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, for 12-15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack.

Dough Recipe from The Boastful Baker
Filling Recipe from Big City, Little Kitchen

    Pin It

6 Responses to “Gingerbread Apple Upside Down Cake”

  1. #
    1
    Sophie — January 22, 2010 at 2:27 pm

    That looks delicious!! And perfect for the winter weather.

  2. #
    2
    birdutmasali — January 23, 2010 at 2:34 pm


    I do know and love cooking

    Turkey- istanbul much love to youery nice.

  3. #
    3
    Kathleen — January 25, 2010 at 12:38 am

    This looks yummy! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing.

  4. #
    4
    chelsea — May 10, 2014 at 12:18 am

    I made this tonight for a birthday and it was truly *amazing*! We all loved it and all the kids came back wanting seconds. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out incredibly moist and gooey, deliciously sweet, and spiced. I used half Granny Smith apples and half Gala. I also only had a 9″ pan and by the time I filled it up I still had enough batter (and some extra apple slices left) to fill another 9″ pan. I didn’t have any extra caramel topping, but decided to just bake the batter with the few left over apple slices. Next time I will double the amount of the caramel topping and cut up two more apples and make two full pans worth. It takes a little bit of time to make, but is not a difficult recipe to follow and is oh-so worth it! Thanks for sharing this!

    • beantownbaker — May 12th, 2014 @ 4:54 pm

      SO glad you enjoyed it! It’s been years since I’ve made this recipe and your comment has me moving it to the top of my to-bake list!

  5. #
    5
    windows 7 starter snpc oa toshiba — December 11, 2017 at 10:52 am

    I have been reviewin online more than 4 hours today for windows 7
    starter snpc oa toshiba & Pimento Cheese Burger , yet I never found any interesting article like yours.
    It is pretty worth enough for me. In my view, if all site owners
    and bloggers made good content as you did, the internet will be a lot more useful than ever before.

Leave a Comment