FOOD: The Bake with Paris – Fantastic Fig Newtons

By Paris Brown
NNPA Newswire

Hello and welcome back to The Bake! Today’s bake is extra special to me because it’s a recreation of one of my favorite treats- the fig newton.

The sweet cookie wrapped around the intensely flavored fig filling was always such a comforting taste.

So, I recreated them, but better! You see, my only problem with fig newtons is that they were dry and too crumbly.

I enjoyed the filling way more than the actual cookie. So, I made sure my fig newtons were moist and had the perfect texture.

My goal was to create the perfect balance between the soft cookie and the sticky filling. And I accomplished that if I do say so myself.

But don’t just take my word for it- try out the recipe and have a fantastic bake!

Ingredients:

Dough:

• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup brown sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon or orange
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 ½ cups wheat flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt

Filling:

• 2 cups DRIED figs
• ½ cups water plus 2 tbsp molasses
• Juice of 1 lemon or orange
• 1 tbsp honey
• Dash of salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F
2. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla until fully combined and fluffy. Mix in your egg and lemon/orange zest.
3. Mix flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add the dry to the wet and mix thoroughly. Set in the fridge to chill for at least 10 minutes.
4. In a medium saucepan, add figs, water and molasses mix, lemon/orange juice, honey, and salt. Bring to a near boil over medium heat, or until the figs soften and the water evaporates.
5. Cool, then blend in a food processor until it comes together and forms a ball.
6. Take a spoonful of the cookie dough and flatten it. Place a tablespoon of the fig mix and put it in the middle of the dough. Wrap the dough around the fig mixture and place it onto the prepared baking sheet.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until they are a light golden color.
8. Enjoy!!

*Optional*

Brush molasses on fig newtons after they come out of the oven and place in broiler for 1-2 minutes. Watch them carefully; they burn easily.