Fresh Fig Newtons
These homemade Fresh Fig Newtons use fresh figs and a cookie dough that has just a hint of orange-- just like the store-bought cookie. Soft and full of fruit.
These cookies were a happy accident. And YES. Fig Newtons ARE cookies in my world. Not cake.
Soft orangey shortbread wrapped around figgy jam... oh man Fig Newtons are good.
I will readily admit that if I am left unattended with a book and that bright yellow package I am likely to mindlessly eat every single one. Well maybe I would leave a couple. But only so no one would blame me for eating the last cookie.
We stopped by a local produce stand that sits just around the corner from us; I've been trying to get there for a while.
They sell plants, and fresh vegetables, and nuts by the pound. There are flowers, and wind chimes, and handcrafted cedar Adirondack chairs. This place is right up my alley.
I grinned at Chad while I loaded the back seat of our car with hanging baskets, oregano plants, and a six pack of jubilee watermelons that are already bearing tiny little fruits. He humors my slight obsession with buying plant life every time I see it. I think it's so I don't roll my eyes at the amount of money he spends on parts for his remote controlled randomness.
The owners were a friendly couple eager to help us, and we fell into a lengthy conversation about this and that.
Chit chat finally landed on the figs they had for sale that no one knew what to do with. The fig tree is yielding at an alarming rate and the fruit is ripening faster than anyone can eat the fresh figs. They told us they thought they would sell more figs if people had ideas about what to do with them. AND THEN they gifted us a whole basket to experiment with!
I returned home happy, HAPPY, HAPPY because not only did I acquire a carload of plants to fuss with, I got myself a kitchen project, too!
I'll be honest ... I've never made anything with figs.
I spent a few hours surfing around with my laptop finding gorgeous fig salads with goat cheese and delicate fig tarts. And while those fig recipes are beautiful and definitely have a tasty place in this world, that place IS NOT HERE in the land of fried chicken, pinto beans, and Sundrop.
So I settled on cookies. More specifically, Fig Newtons. From Scratch.
Everyone likes cookies, right?
If you don't like cookies I'm not sure we can be friends anymore. Sorry bout that.
So I sliced up the figs and put them into a heavy-bottomed saucepan with some brown sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla.
After 40 or 50 minutes of simmering and a little bit of stirring/smashing the larger pieces with the back of a fork, my fresh figs turned into a gooey jam that was deliciously sticky and sweet. I had to talk myself out of smearing it on toast.
Twice.
I stowed the jam away in a jar while I worked on my cookie crust. The jam can be made ahead. It will keep in the fridge for 3-ish days. Less if you make toast.
The dough gets divided; half is pressed into the pan to bake and half is pressed or rolled out and set aside in the freezer while it waits its turn. I pressed mine out in between two generously buttered pieces of foil. Parchment paper IS DEFINITELY better, but you hafta work with what you've got. Am I right?
When the baked bottom layer comes out of the oven, spread the fig filling evenly across it. Then lick the spoon.
Go get the top layer of pressed out cookie dough from the freezer. Carefully peel it from between the foil or parchment paper.
As you can see, my dough is very ugly and broke apart in places.
That's because this is real life.
And it's cool. Because when it bakes, it all melts together. No one will ever know it wasn't perfect.
Except in the case of mine because I published my imperfections on the internet.
After baking and cooling completely, I lifted the foil out and sliced my Newtons into little cookie-sized bars. You see? No evidence of the uncooperative cookie dough anywhere.
Of course we promptly returned to the produce stand with a bag full of these cookies and a copy of the recipe. I hope they enjoyed them. We didn't wanna be creepy and make them try the cookies while we stood there to judge the reaction.
But my verdict is: WIN!!!
I absolutely love them. You will, too.
Other Fig Recipes to Love
- Bacon Wrapped Figs are an appetizer favorite. Seriously so simple and great for feeding a crowd.
- Feels Fancy Figgy Chicken is SO EASY, but it's a recipe that feels fancy. Great for dinner parties or impressing a date.
Fresh Fig Newtons
Fresh Fig Newton are a homemade version of the popular store bought cookies, made with fresh figs!
Ingredients
Filling
- 16 fresh figs; washed, dried, and quartered
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Cookie Crust
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter, at room temperature (12 tablespoons)
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 2 eggs
- 4 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, make the filling. Bring the figs, ½ cup brown sugar, lemon zest, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to a low boil, stirring as needed.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 40-50 minutes, occasionally smashing the larger pieces with the back of a fork and stirring. They will cook down and thicken with a jam-like consistency.
- Remove the filling from the heat and cool completely. See Note**
- Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 9 X 13 baking dish, then line with parchment paper or foil then butter the parchment or foil. Use plenty of butter.
- In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and 1 ½ cups brown sugar until it’s fluffy. Add the orange zest and eggs. Beat on medium until the dough comes together. Then stir in the vanilla.
- Gradually incorporate the flour mixture with the mixer on low. The dough will be sticky.
- Butter two “pan-sized” pieces of foil or parchment paper, measure 1 ½ cups of the dough out, and roll or press the dough in between the pieces. This will be your top crust, so get it into a rectangle-ish shape if you can. Put it in the freezer.
- Press the remaining dough into the prepared baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes. It will be pretty and golden brown.
- Spread the fig filling across the baked crust and then get the top crust out of the freezer.
- Gently peel the foil or paper away from the frozen cookie crust and then place it over the top of the fig filling. Pat any stray crust pieces into place.
- Bake for another 20-25 minutes. Watch it closely! The top will turn a nice golden color.
- Let the whole thing cool completely in the pan, on a wire rack if you have one. Once cooled, lift the parchment (or foil) out of the pan and slice into squares.
Notes
- The fig filling can be made ahead stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Recommended Products
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Viking Contemporary 3-Ply Stainless Steel Saucepan with Lid, 2.4 Quart -
Emile Henry Made In France HR Modern Classics Large Rectangular Baker, 13 x 9", Blue -
200 Count Precut Parchment Baking Paper - Unbleached Parchment Paper for Baking, Half Sheet Pans - Non-Stick Baking Parchment Sheets, Brown, 12 x 16 Inches
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Cholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
(adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures HERE and HERE, and then I referenced about 351 more fig newton recipes, including Fig Squares from my fave kitchen bible, Cook's Illustrated The New Best Recipe.)
Origins
Are you still with me allllll the way down here? If yes, then I'll take this time to share a little more with you about this recipe.
It was originally published in June of 2012. This was my very first time working with fresh figs. I've made this recipe many MANY times since I originally published, and many of you have made it, too. It has gotten pretty rave reviews from the makers AND the eaters.
Fresh Fig Newtons are very old fashioned. This isn't a quick recipe but it will sooooo not disappoint. I edited this post in August 2018 with some new photos, and I touched up the directions to make the language more concise. There were pieces that seemed confusing, and I had more than one reader be extra confused about the original measurement of "6 fresh figs". That should have been 16 - I'm sorry! Typos are the worst. You can actually get away with around 12-14 figs here, and pro tip: If the filling seems too thick, add a dash more lemon juice.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Just wondering, is the bottom layer not fully cooked before adding the jam and top layer? It seems that the second bake would burn the bottom.
No answer required. Lol. If I had read all the comments before I would have seen the reference re weight in one of your answers.
I have used and loved this recipe before and found is was delicious. Just moved and have my own fig tree. Will be used it often.
Thanks.
Thanks, Ruth! <3
What is the approximate weight of figs you use in the fig Newton recipe? Some figs are different sizes which could made a difference in the final product. Thanks for the info.
When you make these, you really feel like you’ve done something! And I like that on occasion. But I absolutely failed on the 10 minute prep time! I modified Lynn’s idea about the 10x12 pans, I just used my smallest cookie sheet with buttered parchment for the frozen dough. I liked having the edge of the cookie sheet to scrape my spatula and help get the dough where I wanted it.
I did read all your info on the 16 figs, and I have an idea for you. I was making a big ol pot of fig goo. For canning or freezer jam or cookies or whatever. My figs are huge and by the time I go picking them around the tree once, the rest are getting ripe! I weighed one at 1.9 oz, and I thought it might be helpful if the next time you made these you might measure the finished amount that you are spreading on the bottom layer. I just went by your photos and instinct, and they turned out incredible. Also, I sprinkled blueberries over half as an experiment that turned out wonderful, those were a little less sweet. I might try blackberries, too.
Thanks for this recipe!
I know this is an unusual question. But is it possible to make the cookie part with out wheat flour and just use white. I know the wheat gives the brown color and probably tastes a little different. Just have everything on hand except the wheat flour.
It depends on the wheat flour - sometimes it is heavier and so will bake up differently. I'd try half wheat and half all purpose to start and then go from there!
The result is delicious but the process was not error-free. There must be an easier way to get dough on either side of a layer of fig jam! The first layer, of course, is easy: Just smear it on the bottom of the pan and bake it, but placing the top layer was a Problem.
How I created the Problem: I took the top layer dough from the freezer, peeled off the first layer of wax paper and placed one end of the thin slab onto the (still hot from the oven) bottom layer and fig jam, and (surprise!) it defrosted in seconds, turning soft and gooey and lumpy. It stuck onto the wax paper and balled up on the bottom layer. It was too soft to place and too stiff to spread.
How I recovered from this: I put the mess into the oven and baked it for maybe five minutes, which softened up the top layer dough sufficiently that I could spread it like frosting, more-or-less evenly over the fig layer. After it had finished baking you'd never know what a struggle it had been through.
A better way to do it: Peel both layers off and then (quickly) place the slab of dough onto the bottom layer and tidy up the edges. Thought you'd want to know. 🙂
these are really good.
Thank you for the recipe, we live fig bars and I know home made is always better!
Ahhhh .....sundrop....my favorite...must be from my neck of the woods. .I will try this recipe...looks great!
This is the third year that I’ve made these. I forgot that the second bake always takes like 40 minutes. I don’t get it? They are absolutely delicious! I spend 3 or 4 days baking nonstop!
I am just WAITING for my figs to ripen! Thanks for taking the time to leave such a nice comment, Kirby!
Fabulously delicious ?
Thank you!
I'll admit that I'm not a fan of reading all the lead-in bits to recipes on food blogs, but yours was funny! I like that you enjoy real life and turn it into the perfect amount of satire to win new followers. Well, it worked! (And it helps that we have a couple things in common. My husband is just as obsessed with RC everything, as I am with my jungle of a garden.)
Recipe was easy to follow and very yummy. I'm more critical than most because when my hubby is not playing with his big boy toys, he is a locally famous chef and restaurant owner. Of course that means I have to do all the cooking at home so I'm always trying new recipes. If it's impressive, it might make the cut and end up being feature as a Chef's Special for a couple nights. This one made the cut so it will be a dessert special served with in-house-made Guinness ice cream.
Hi Jenna - thank you so so much for taking the time to leave such lovely feedback! Would LOVE to try your Guinness ice cream someday - so happy you are here!
I shared the fig newtons with a several very critical friends who say the fig newtons are the best cookie they have ever eaten. That is high praise.
There is an easy way to get the top curst on the bottom layer that I would like to share. Use two aluminum trays 10 X 12 inches. Line one with parchment paper. Coat the parchment paper and the plain pan with butter. Divide the dough equally into the two pans and pat the dough into them. Bake one pan of dough and freeze the other pan. When baked, spread the filling on the baked pastry. Take the other pan out of the freezer, lift the parchment paper with the dough out of the freezer and flip it on top of the baked pastry. It is the perfect size crust and fits exactly. Bake and enjoy.
I will be making these wonderful cookies a lot. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Lynn!
@Lynn, This is a really good tip. And, I need all the help I can get. I'm in my sixties and still trying to learn new... and this is new for me!!
These taste EXACTLY like fig newtons. I baked them for a party and everyone ate seconds!
Thank you, Nancy! Glad you all enjoyed!
I made this GF with the figs and oranges from my tree and amazing! Bookmarked for a repeat!
Thank you Heather! So glad you enjoyed!
@Heather Roberts, what did you use for a gluten free crust?