Homemade Fig Newtons

• servings: 20 servings
• active time: 50 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon brown sugar

6 tablespoons cold butter, cubed

2 eggs, whisked

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

8 oz dried mission figs

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup bourbon or other dark alcohol

1/2 - 3/4 tablespoon maple syrup

zest and juice of half a lemon

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

pinch of salt

Directions

Make your dough

Add both flours, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder to a food processor and pulse to combine. Add in cubed butter and pulse a few times until pieces are small and evenly incorporated.

Add in vanilla extract and about 3/4 of the whisked egg mixture. Continue pulsing until the dough comes together. To test if it's ready, press the dough between your fingers – it should stick together without crumbling (but it shouldn't be wet and sticky). If it's still too dry, add more egg in small increments until it reaches the right consistency.

Use your hands to shape the dough into a rectangle, then wrap dough up in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

Make the filling

Add all of the filling ingredients to a small saucepan and stir. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover with a lid. Check every few minutes, mashing lightly with a spoon. Cook until liquid has completely been absorbed into the dried figs. Let the fig mixture cool, then transfer to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

Preheat oven

to 350˚F / 175˚ C.

Prepare the dough

On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into four equal pieces. If the dough feels too sticky, work in a little more flour with your hands. Roll dough into a 3"-4" long cylinder, then roll into a 9" long x 4" wide rectangle, using a bench scraper to help square up the sides.

Pipe in the filling

. Scoop filling into a piping bag or a plastic sandwich bag with a corner cut off. Pipe two strips of filling side by side down the middle of the dough (lengthwise), leaving a small margin on each end of the cookie so it doesn't ooze out when baking.

Form the cookie

Fold each side of the dough over the filling, then pinch the seam and ends closed with your fingers. Flip it over and roll very gently with a rolling pin to flatten the cookie out and flatten the seam.

Bake

. Carefully transfer the logs seam side down to a nonstick baking sheet. (If using nonstick, make sure to use parchment paper.) Bake for 18-22 minutes, until the bottom is lightly browned. Let cool completely and then slice each log into ~5 cookies (about 1.5 inches long each).

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2 cookies
• Calories: 310
• Total Fat: 10 g
• Saturated Fat: 5.7 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 46.1 mg
• Sodium: 346.9 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 48.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 4.6 g
• Total Sugars: 23 g
• Protein: 5 g