Homemade Fig Newtons
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Soft, buttery dough wrapped around a healthy, naturally sweetened filling. These cookies are so flavourful and so good, they might even be yummier than the original!
Author:
Serves: 24 2-inch cookies
Ingredients
  • Filling:
  • 1 heaping cup dried figs
  • ½ cup medjool dates
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 cup water
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • .
  • Dough:
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ cup butter (1 stick), softened
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. To make the dough: In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Add flour mixture to butter mixture until well combined, scraping down sides of the bowl if necessary. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 3 hours until quite firm.
  2. Meanwhile, make filling: in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine figs, dates, applesauce, water, and honey. Bring to a boil, stirring often, then reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour until water has mostly been absorbed. Transfer mixture to a food processor and pulse until you have a smooth, pasty mixture. The mixture should have the consistency of a thick, sticky jam. Refrigerate mixture until dough is ready.
  3. Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
  4. Sandwich dough between two sheets of well-floured wax paper and use a rolling pin to roll dough into a very thin rectangle about 16"x12". The wax paper should keep the dough from sticking, but if it does, sprinkle with more flour. Once rectangle is made, place dough back in the fridge for 5-10 minutes until it firms up again.
  5. Remove dough from fridge and discard the top layer of wax paper. Cut rectangle into four strips (4"x12"), slicing the bottom layer of wax paper as you go. The idea is to have four separate strips of dough on top of wax paper. Take a quarter of the fig mix and spread it down the centre of a strip of dough. Press down mixture to flatten, then gently fold the sides of dough over the mixture, peeling off wax paper as you go. Repeat with remaining strips until they have all been filled and folded.
  6. Carefully transfer each log to the prepared baking sheet, discarding wax paper. Bake for 12-15 minutes until puffed and golden. Let cool on baking sheet completely before slicing each log into six 2-inch pieces. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Recipe by Port and Fin at https://portandfin.com/homemade-fig-newtons/