Oh hai! How are you faring this winter? Me? I’m doing fine, lucky for me Boulder has pretty mild weather, even at this time of year. Speaking of which, it’s 2019…times really does fly. My only resolution this year is to post more often, got to get better at that! While we may not get as much snow as they do in the mountains, the temps are still low enough for sweaters, hot cocoa, and baked goods. I recently-ish attempted to make my own fig newtons for the first time.
Fig newtons were actually one of the first cookie-bar I ever had as a child. I still love them now as a fully grown adult. The chewiness of the filling along with the softness of the dough. Just melts in your mouth. It’s the sunshine that fills my soul. One summer I was an intern at a park on the East Coast and the park had fig trees dotted throughout. I would engorge myself on fresh figs, they are hands down one of my favorite fruits. Couldn’t get enough of them and I think about them all the time…a little too much. Like little pockets of sweet treasure calling out to me like a siren calls out from the water. I’m obsessed…oh well.
Anyway, back to the recipe. What I wanted to do with this recipe is to make large, beautiful fig bars that would pose a challenge for me to fit the entire thing in my mouth on one go. I packed a nice thick layer of homemade fig jam in between two delicate layers of dough. Really surprised that the dough held together as well as it did, considering how much jam I stuffed in between them. Now, don’t judge the figs in the pics down below. That thick, delicious goodness in those first two photos isn’t pretty, but the results from the fig jam creation can make or break this dessert.
I used dried figs and I’m not aware of anyone using fresh figs for this recipe. I don’t think you would get the same intensity as you would with the dried figs. Dried figs are also easier to get all year round. You do have to soak them for a bit to be able to work with them. All the work that went into making the fig jam was definitely worth it. Any leftover jam that I had I would smear on toast or swirl into my yogurt, but really the options are endless here.
This was surprisingly easy to put together. I’ve been putting this off for a while because I was intimated at trying my hand at fig newtons. Mine are definitely bigger but a really nice substitute to the package ones at the store. These figgy newts (as I call them) are a crowd pleaser and the perfect side-kick to any Netflix binge night.
| Prep Time | 1 hour |
| Cook Time | 45 minutes |
| Passive Time | 1 hour |
| Servings |
24 large newts
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- 2 lb dried black figs
- 1.5 cup raw cane sugar
- 5 cups water
- 2 cups orange juice
- 2 tablespoons orange zest (optional)
- 3.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup raw cane sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Ingredients
Fig Jam
Dough
|
|
- Cut stems off dried figs and place in a large bowl and add 3 cups of water. Set aside for 1-2 hours (depending how old your figs are) to soften.
- Drain the excess water from the bowl and place the figs in the food processor. Blend until it becomes a thick paste and is a spreadable consistency. You want to make sure the figs are well blended and broken down. You will need to blend in batches, you don't want to overcrowd the food processor and it will take more time if you don't do it in batches.
- Take the fig paste and add it to a stock pan with all of the other ingredients under "Fig Jam" on a medium heat for first 5 minutes and stir to combine. Bring down to a low heat and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Take the mixture off the heat and let it cool off, you don't want it to be too warm before spreading over the dough.
- Place flour in a large bowl with salt and baking powder, stir to combine. In a separate bowl add the butter and both sugar types and beat until creamy. Add each egg one at a time until combined.
- Add the milk and vanilla to the wet mixture. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients until just combined. At this point, just use your hands to handle the dough so that you don't over beat the mixture. Pat it into a dough ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Place the wrapped dough in the refrigerator to chill and rest for at least 1 hour.
- When the dough is ready pull it out of the refrigerator and place on a clean counter. At this point, preheat the oven to 350F. Roll out the dough into two 9x13" rectangles and about 1/4" thick. You can either use a glass baking dish or just freeform on a baking dish, the dough holds it's shape really well.
- Place down one layer of dough and the spread about 2 cups of the fig jam in an even layer. Then place the second layer of dough on top. If you want to get the classic look of a fig newton, you will want to cut each layer into thirds lengthwise and have three separate logs. Leave about a 1/4"-1/2" of space around the edge so that you can pinch the layers of dough together.
- Place the baking dish or baking sheet in the oven and let cook for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool and consume, the taste will spark joy in your heart ;).
Recipe adapted from genius kitchen's version of fig newtons.