A delicious and healthier spin on Fig Newtons made with organic whole wheat pastry flour, maple sugar, and fresh figs.
You'll make the cookie dough first. Zest orange. Put maple sugar and room temp butter into electric mixer and mix until light and fluffy. Add in the egg, zest, and vanilla, and mix until fully incorporated. In separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Slowly add dry ingredients to mixer until fully incorporated. Use spatula to scrape sides and mix again.
Cover dough and chill in fridge for at least one hour.
While dough is chilling, make fig filling. If using DRIED figs, see instructions in article. If using FRESH figs, do the following: Rinse figs (if necessary), remove stems, then slice in half. Then place all fig filling ingredients in pan over medium heat - NO lid (you want to cook as much liquid off as possible). Cook for about 20 minutes, then reduce heat to low and cook for an additional 10 minutes until almost all the liquid has cooked out. Stir regularly - and stir more frequently during the last 10+ minutes to prevent the figs from sticking to the bottom of the pan as they finish up.
Remove from heat and leave uncovered until figs come to room temperature. Then puree in blender or food processor until smooth.
Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C) and put a sheet of parchment paper over cookie sheet.
Put another large strip of parchment paper on your counter and lightly dust the surface with flour (we use the same pastry flour to dust). Or just dust the counter surface with flour, but parchment will make cleanup easier and the dough won’t stick as easily. Use rolling pin to roll out dough into a rectangular shape, about 1/4″ thick. Use a ruler and knife to create finished dough strips about 3.5″ wide. Length is less important but about 7-10" seems ideal. (See pictures in article.)
Spoon in and level fig filling down the center of each dough strip. Then fold one side of dough over fig filling, then fold second side of dough over. Lightly press down on the dough seam.
Transfer the Fig Newton strips to the baking sheet, placing the seam side DOWN.
Bake on middle oven rack for about 20 minutes. Finished Newtons shouldn't be browned, just cooked until dough is dried and firm to the touch.
For dryer, more crumbly Newton, let cool on cooling rack. For softer, moister Newton (which we recommend) steam them in a covered dish as follows: Put a layer of parchment in the bottom of a large baking dish. Once removed from oven, put your warm Newtons in the baking dish. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and leave them to rest for about 12 hours. The moisture trapped inside will absorb back into the cookies. After resting 12 hours, they'll have the ideal texture and flavor to start eating.
You can continue to store them in the covered dish for 3-5 days or longer in your fridge, although Fig Newtons are best eaten at room temperature. Can also be frozen in airtight freezer bags for later use.
100% whole wheat fig newton with fresh or dried figs https://www.tyrantfarms.com/whole-wheat-fig-newtons-fresh-figs/