Guess what? An improved, updated version of this recipe can be found in my cookbook Classic Snacks Made from Scratch: 70 Homemade Versions of Your Favorite Brand-Name Treats. Buy it now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local indie bookstore!
Ramona, her face shining with happiness, looked at her friends sharing the applesauce. “Those cookies are filled with worms. Chopped-up worms!” she gleefully told everyone.
“Why, Ramona!” Beezus was shocked. “They aren’t either. They’re filled with ground-up figs. You know that.” Ramona did not answer. Her mouth was full of fig Newtons.
–Beezus and Ramona, by Beverly Cleary
Oh, Ramona. Despite being typecast as Beezus due to my older-sister status, I’ve always felt a kinship with you and your strong opinions on Fig Newtons.
But then ReadyMade magazine asked me to create a homemade version and taste-test it against the store-bought kind for their Taste Off column.
So I put all thoughts of minced wrigglers aside to develop a cookie combining the nostalgic lunchbox memories of the Newton and an adult appreciation of the savory, seasonal fig.
Luckily, the group of brainy ladies I recruited for the blind taste test are all Newtons aficionados.
(Maybe that’s where I went wrong? Eat Fig Newtons, develop super brain powers, and make the world a better, more beautiful place? Sigh.)
Pulling no punches in the name of truly objective reporting, the group came to some earth-shattering conclusions.
Whole grain and so-called “healthy” versions of Newtons are the crunchy camp counselors of the cookie world.
While they earnestly broadcast their good intentions and virtuous ingredients with whole-grain crusts and actual seeds in the fig filling, the testing panel would rather hang out with the cool kids.
The satisfyingly old-school original Newtons took everyone right back to lunchboxes in the all-purpose room and after-school snack time.
(No word on whether said snack time also included friends who were as gleefully bossy as Ramona Quimby.)
And the homemade version, while sticking out from the bunch like a sticky thumb with their (slightly) unevenly spread filling, was a religious experience for a bunch of the tasters, giving them flashbacks to Hamantaschen and cakey Linzer-style Christmas cookies.
But what really sold the OG Newtons and the homemade cookies were the right balance between filling and crust–not too moist, not too dry, with a clearly defined textural contrast.
Make your own Fig Newton cookies at home with my tried-and-tested recipe from Classic Snacks Made From Scratch, and enjoy the nostalgia.
Homemade Fig Newtons
Yield: 4 dozen cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Additional Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Homemade Fig Newtons, made with real fig filling, are cakey and moist enough to keep kids and adults happy.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup (113 grams) whole wheat flour
- 2 cups (120 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (53 grams) light brown sugar
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 large eggs
Filling
- 8 ounces (1/2 pound) dried Mission figs, stems removed, quartered
- 2 cups fresh orange juice (from about 6 oranges)
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Sift the flours, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugars and butter together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, then the dry ingredients to make a stiff dough.
- Pat the dough into a disk, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Make the fig filling:
- Stir the figs, juice, sugar, and ginger together in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer until figs are soft and the liquid is reduced to a jamlike consistency, about 30 minutes.
- Transfer the fig filling to a mini food processor and pulse until pureed.
- Cool the fig filling to room temperature.
Assemble and bake:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
- On a well-floured work surface, divide the dough into four equal pieces.
- Roll one of the pieces into an 8x10-inch rectangle approximately 1/4-inch thick. Trim the edges to make a clean rectangle.
- Spread half the strip with 1/4 of the fig filling using a silicone or offset spatula, then fold the uncovered half over to make a sandwich.
- Slice into 4 2x5-inch strips, then cut each strip into 3 cookies.
- Transfer the cookies to the baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Cool on racks before serving.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 139Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 102mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 3g
The nutritional information above is computer-generated and only an estimate.
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