Not Your Ordinary Fig Newton

Today, I became a fan of that venerable snack bar, the “Fig Newton.” My husband occasionally purchases these treats — and he eats the entire bag as I have never been a fan of the snack bars. However, my homemade fig bars are not your ordinary “Fig Newtons.” They are much, much better. My interpertation of this dessert is that soft, melt-in-your mouth bar cookies are filled with a mild-flavored fresh fig filling. The filling is not too sweet and doesn’t overpower the cookie. There’s just a hint of fig crunch and flavor. The entire bar is perfectly balanced between figs and the cookie.

This week, I am enjoying a few of my Houston mother-in-law’s figs (see above). Plus, I added these fresh figs which I found at Whole Foods (shown below). Figs are highly perishable — cooking with fresh figs becomes a priority! Figs are great when eaten raw as a sweet snack. However, they also make flavorful additions in cooked dishes. I made “Fig Newtons,” “Fig Ravioli” and “Brandied Fig & Pecan Pie.” Yes, I had quite a busy day!

Growing Fig Trees in Louisiana

Fig trees grow well in both Texas and Louisiana and the figs usually ripen in late June and July. My mother-in-law’s Texas home has been my source for figs. However, sadly the home has been sold. This is my last nostalgic chance to cook with those delicate, sweet figs. My sister-in-law graciously picked some of the ripe figs and sent them to me with travelers coming this way. It was enough for several recipes. One recipe was “Not Your Ordinary Fig Newtons.”

Fig trees can grow to be quite large — from 15 to 30 feet tall and they really spread out. Here is my mother-in-law’s fig tree. The trees thrive in a sunny location and well drained soil. However, winter freezes are hard on these trees. This tree had to be replanted about six years ago — so it can still grow much taller.

Ripe, fresh figs

If you have a source for fresh figs — then lucky you!. There’s a reason for why dried and/or fig preserves are common in recipes rather than fresh figs. Ripe figs are soft, sweet and ooze a syrupy liquid. They are extremely perishable and won’t last more than a day at this point — then they ferment. And the caveat is that figs don’t ripen after they are picked from the tree; so they can’t be picked green. Figs just don’t transport well to be sold in grocery stores around the country.

The last factor to consider is that the figs ripen at different times on the tree. Figs grow on new tree growth (this can be quite a challenge to pick the figs on large trees!) Here’s a ripe fig along with two green figs. Typically you pick a few figs at a time, especially if the tree is still small.

Fig Sauce

To help the figs last a little longer before spoiling on my kitchen counter, I turned the fresh figs into a fig sauce. This is quite simple. To make the sauce — stem and slice the figs. Add a little water, sugar and lemon juice and let this concoction gently simmer on the stove for 30 minutes until the figs are soft and the liquid concentrates. Mash with a potato masher. Transfer to a container and store in a refrigerator. The sauce will keep for a week or two when the figs are cooked. I used the fig sauce in my Fig Newton recipe. Although you can also use fig preserves, my sauce is not quite as sweet which makes it more pleasing in some recipes.

This sauce can also be made using dried figs. For dried figs, let them rehydrate in water and/or brandy. Cook the dried figs gently on the stove in the liquid until they are soft. For this recipe, I prefer a fig variety such as Black Mission dried figs.

Recipe Sources

The recipe for “Fig Newtons” is a combination of recipes from a friend and one which I found on the internet. At one of our weekly social and music sessions, our group regressed into a discussion about figs — as it often gets off the subject of music and into wine and food. Bonnie shared several of her favorite recipes for fresh figs which I filed away for future use. Surprise! I could still locate these recipes. Hanielas.com is a food blog centered around dessert recipes and cookie decorating ideas. She provides a wealth of ideas and beautiful photos. Her cookie dough recipe for Fig Newtons is spot-on and there’s not too much which I can do to improve it. Haniela’s blog is located at (https://www.hanielas.com/homemade-fig-newtons/)

What is in the name of Fig Newtons?

I’ve always wondered how Fig Newtons got their name. A little internet browsing provided some information. These pastries date to 1891 when they were first mass produced by an extrusion process by the Kennedy Biscuit Works, a Massachusetts-based bakery. The bakery was operated by the National Biscuit Company which later became known as Nabisco. Newton is Boston suburb and is close in proximity to where these snacks were first manufactured (Cambridge, MA). The Kennedy Biscuit Works had a practice of naming cookies after nearby communities (Beacon Hill, Harvard, and Shrewsbury were other cookie names). Newton sounded sophisticated and so the snack bar was named after the city. And, Newton still is truly a beautiful, wooded and well-to-do city close to Boston.

Fig Newton Recipe

Making these “Fig Newtons” requires two components — the fig sauce filling and a cookie dough recipe. The cookie is a soft rolled cookie. Fresh figs are cooked to make the Fig Sauce filling. Then the Fig Sauce is layered in between two rolled cookie layers. The cookie sheet is baked, scored and cut into bars. Here are the ingredients for this recipe.

For the cookie dough, the recipe uses both brown and granulated sugar. I added a pinch of cinnamon for a little “spice.” Although I’ve shown whole eggs, the recipe uses only the egg yolks — use the whites in some other recipe.

I used an electric mixer to mix up the cookie dough, as I wanted a nice and fluffy dough. This means creaming the butter and sugars, then adding in the egg yolks and vanilla extract. Last, the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon) are mixed in.

It is much easier to roll out the dough if it is chilled. So, gather the dough up into a ball and let it chill in the refrigerator for an hour.

Then, divide the dough into two portions. Place each one on a large piece of wax paper (this is crucial). Roll out each ball into a retangular which is 9″ x 8″ using a rolling pin. The size doesn’t have to be exact — but the rectangles should be the same size. Layer the fig filling onto one of the rectangles. Stack the second rectangle on top — with the wax paper facing up — and peel off the wax paper.

Flip the entire large cookie rectangle onto a baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper. Then peel off the remaininng piece of wax paper. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool. Next, slide the large cookie over onto a cutting board. Trim the edges, score and cut into bars. Let the bars cool completely before transferring to an air-tight container. These bars are very moist!

Traditional Fig Newton cookies have cookie dough that entirely encases the fig filling. Mine process is easier to achieve (or at least easier to describe). It is simply a bar-type sandwich. The taste is the same!

These cookies are very soft and moist. They are delicious. If you are not a fan of figs — then try this recipe as the fig filling is not overpowering at all. It complements the rich, spicy cookie. It is a wonderful way to use fresh figs.

My husband will now have to share “Fig Newtons” as I have become the snack’s lastest fan. Enjoy!