This was such an exciting recipe to work on because it’s been a good 8-10 years since I’ve had a Newton cookie. Although I loved the Fig Newtons, I also loved the Apple Newtons and Strawberry Newtons. Today, I don’t even know if they still exist. Do they?
Anyway, I had to go off of memory for this one but once I tasted that first cookie, I knew I was close. Soooo close.
I started with Calimyrna Figs, you know, the lighter ones. And, although they were good, I didn’t like that the dough and the filling were almost the same color and the flavor wasn’t quite as bright as I wanted it to be. I wanted to bite into the cookie and have the fig flavor jump right out at you!
After reading a bunch of recipes, I realized that Fig Newtons also have an underlying flavor of orange. Well! I LOVE orange! And, I really love Cara Cara oranges and luckily, they’re in season right now. If you’ve not tried them yet, see if you can find them. They’re amazing!
I also wanted the dough to be firm, yet tender, like Fig Newtons are. There is one thing I remember doing though. I remember biting off the edges of the Newton so I had a cookie that was more fig than dough for the last bite. Anyone else do that?
That was my reasoning for making these in a baking dish rather than trying to make them into a flat log and cut them like so many others have done.
I didn’t ever like the dough on the edges of the cookies, so these don’t have edges. It’s fig, the whole way through!
A couple notes:
• After reading through numerous recipes, I came across a technique that worked perfectly for adding the top dough evenly and neatly to the fig layer. I froze the top layer for about 20 minutes so that I could gingerly place it on top of the fig and it wouldn’t disturb it at all.
• Feel free to use whatever variety of figs you like, just know that the Black Mission will likely be the most intense flavor.
• When you roll out the dough for the top, there will be some wasted dough. I didn’t want to make the top layer too thick so threw the extra away. If you want to, you can make some extra fig filling and try to make a fig log that, when cut into pieces, looks more like a typical Fig Newton.
• The dough will need to be rolled between two pieces of non-stick sprayed plastic wrap.
• Once you get the top layer cut to size (see directions), use a thin, sturdy cutting mat to carry it to the freezer and leave it on that to freeze firm.
Gluten-free Fig Newtons
This is an amazing copy-cat recipe for the much beloved Fig Newtons. The dough is tender and the fig flavorful. It’s simplified by baking in layers in a cake pan.
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 20 cookies
Ingredients
For the filling:
8 oz black mission figs, dried
¾ cup hot water
¼ cup maple syrup
3 Tbls orange juice
Pinch sea salt
For the dough:
1 ¼ cup gluten-free flour
¼ cup teff flour
¾ cup brown sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp cinnamon
½ cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1 small egg + enough water to equal ¼ cup
1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350˚.
To prepare the dough:
In a food processor, combine the dry ingredients for the dough.
With the processor running, add the egg combined with the water and vanilla.
Allow the processor to run until the dough comes together into a ball.
Dump the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it until there are no more dry spots.
Prepare an 8”x8” pan with a parchment sling.
Press half the dough into the pan evenly.
Meanwhile, prepare two 18” strips of plastic wrap by coating one side with non-stick spray.
Place one, spray side up, on a lightly wetted surface so that it sticks.
Place the other half of the dough onto the plastic and cover with the second piece, spray side down.
Roll out just over the size of the baking pan.
Remove the top piece of plastic and sprinkle with a little gluten-free flour.
Place the baking pan lightly on the dough and trip with a knife to the size of the pan.
Place the pan with the pressed dough in the oven for 10 minutes.
Remove the side strips of dough from the cut piece and pull the edges of the plastic up over the dough.
Carefully push a flexible mat or stiff surface under the dough and place in the freezer, keeping flat.
To prepare the filling:
Trim the ends of the figs, cut into quarters and place in a saucepan.
Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil on the stovetop.
Boil until the figs are soft.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
Place the figs in the food processor and process until they become a paste with no lumps.
Spread on top of the dough that was baked.
Remove the top piece of dough from the freezer (It should be firm.) and carefully unwrap it and place on top of the fig paste.
Bake at 350˚ for about 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool completely.
Cut into 20 squares.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: cookies
- Method: baked