I love fig newton cookies — it’s a tender, soft cookie with a fig jam on the inside that is simply delicious. I grew up eating these yummy cookies and they were always a favorite enjoyed at gramma’s house and a treat to have!
However, through the years, the store bought version changed and they’re not as good as they once were, plus are sometimes hard to find. I knew a homemade version would taste much better without all those extra additives, sugars and fillers.
Homemade Fig Newtons have a few steps to them, but are not difficult to make. They can be placed in the freezer and then sliced before baking to have fresh cookies on the table! Or bake them, and slice afterwards! These cookies are delicious with a cup of tea or coffee (or a big glass of whatever kind of milk you enjoy!) and are so good… it’s hard to eat just one!
Let’s get started!
Before we prepare the dough, we are going to cook our filling. I could not find prepared fig jam, so I made my own. I bought dried figs and coarsely chopped them. I tossed them into the pot with some sugar and apple juice, but you can use water. I added just enough liquid so the figs did not burn. If the pot went dry, I added more liquid. I was careful to not add too much liquid because you want a thick jam. Cook until tender. These figs cooked for about an hour. Let cool completely. I scooped the fig jam into another bowl so it could cool faster.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.
Add in softened butter.
Stir in butter until crumbly. I use a fork, but you can use a pastry blender if you like.
Add eggs one at a time with the vanilla and stir.
Keep stirring! Dough will eventually come together.
Toss dough onto floured counter.
Fold dough like you would pie crust. I bring the dough together, flatten, fold the dough and flatten with my hands again. I do this a few times until the dough looks like this:
Divide dough into 6 pieces. Roll dough out.
The fig jam is cooled, so it’s time to fill our cookie dough.
Place a few spoons of fig jam in the centre.
Fold over one side and then fold over the other side, so the dough forms somewhat of a log. Press the seams well. Brush off excess flour.
Place on cutting board. You can cook like this and cut afterwards, but I decided to slice the cookies before cooking.
Time to slice! I sliced in about 1-1/2” slices. I sliced some a bit larger at about 2” pieces. Slice into a similar size as a fig newton cookie!
Place on baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 10 to 15 minutes or until a light golden brown. You do not want to overcook or they’ll be too crunchy, complete opposite of a fig newton cookie.
Loosen on cookie sheet and let cool 5 minutes before placing on wire rack. Let cool completely. Repeat until cookies are baked.
I decided to freeze some raw cookie dough so we could have freshly baked cookies another day. This makes a lot of cookies! Store in airtight container.
These homemade fig newton cookies are delicious and they coincide with our Easter Bible passage for today for Holy Week.
Homemade Fig Newton Cookies
3-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
Fig jam or date purée made by cooking chopped dates with cinnamon, water and a bit of sugar
Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
Add butter and vanilla. You can use a food processor if you like or some old fashioned muscle!! Stir until crumbly. Add eggs one at a time, stirring well until a dough forms. Knead the dough a bit to make it smooth.
Divide the dough into 6 pieces.
Roll dough on floured counter into a narrow rectangle. You can roll dough in a log first, then roll flat. Put fig jam on. Fold edges and pinch together. Roll into a log. Place seam side down. Flatten the top of the log slightly with your hand.
Bake at 350F and cook 10 to 15 minutes, until set and lightly golden. Don’t overcook or burn.
While still warm, cut into squares.
Let cookies cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
You can also slice the cookies before baking if you like. That’s what I did and they turned out great! I cooked them both ways and prefer slicing before baking.
enjoy from Our City Homestead to yours