Fig newtons seem to be everybody’s childhood favorite. Especially my husband’s. I made a batch of homemade, gluten free fig newtons this weekend and he ate the cookies so quickly that I had to hide some for friends.
What makes these little fig newtons so special? Well, I’m told they taste like the real thing. And besides, unlike the original, they have no white flour, white sugar or artificial flavors. They’re gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and naturally sweetened, making them a perfect treat for just about anyone –including those on the GFCF diet.
Lately, a number of parents have been in touch with me about the GFCF diet. Through these correspondences I have been introduced to TACA, as well as Jenny McCarthy’s memoir about her son, Louder Than Words, in which she discusses her journey to heal her son’s autism.
I am glad to have encountered this strongly networked group of parents and to provide GFCF recipes such as the one below that offer fun food for the whole family.
Fig Newtons
Ingredients
Filling:
- 1 cup dried figs
- ½ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Cookie:
- 2½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ cup agave nectar or honey
- ¼ cup yacon syrup
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil or palm shortening
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place figs in a food processor and blend for 30 seconds until they are well chopped
- Add lemon juice and vanilla; process until a smooth paste results
- In a large bowl, combine almond flour and salt
- In a small bowl, combine agave, yacon, grapeseed oil and vanilla
- Mix wet ingredients into dry, then refrigerate dough for 1 hour
- Divide chilled dough into 4 parts
- Between 2 pieces of parchment paper, roll out 1 part of the dough into a 10 x 4 inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick
- Spread ¼ of the filling evenly down the right side (lengthwise) of the rectangle
- Fold the dough in half down the long side --resulting in a 10 x 2 inch bar
- "Mend" the seam so the bar is symmetrical
- Repeat with 3 remaining parts of dough and filling
- Transfer each bar to a parchment paper lined baking sheet; bake at 350°F for 10-15 minutes
- Allow to cool slightly; cut bar every 2 inches to form the fig newtons
- Serve
elana says
David,
Interesting thought indeed! If you do that please let us know how it goes.
Thanks,
Elana
David H says
Yes, this is definitely something I just have to try.
.
I have all the Ingredients, believe it or not!
.
Just wondering, if you rolled the pastry around the fig mixture (like a Swiss/Jelly Roll),
then when it’s baked slice in 1 inch slices, warm in the micro serve with Whipped Dairy Cream and Wine Apple seeds (Pomegranate).
.
Hmmmm! interesting thought.
elana says
Joy,
Thanks! Let me know how you like them.
Elana
Joy says
Hey what a cool site. I have bookmarked you and will definitely be trying these.
elana says
~M,
I use yacon and agave together in my recipes. Yacon has a rich dark flavor that mimics molasses and I use it in place of this ingredient.
Hope this helps to answer your question.
Elana
~M says
Hi Elana,
This post – as well as your gingerbread post and faq – explain what yacon is. I had never heard of it before, but became aware through your blog and then spotted it at the grocery store. My question is, when do you use yacon as opposed to agave? Thanks!
Elana says
Diane,
Thank you for your comment and for pointing out this mistake regarding the yacon syrup. I have changed the link on this post so that it connects to a pure yacon syrup that you can easily purchase online from iherb.com; I think they will mail order to Canada.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks again for your astute comment regarding the yacon error.
Elana
Diane says
Hi Elana,
I wasn’t familiar with yacon so hit the link in your recipe and the ingredients listed are as follows:
“Extracted in distilled water and 40% organic grain alcohol”.
Does this mean it contains grain alcohol? Can celiacs ingest this?
Also, can you recommend a substitute (agave nectar?) if I can’t source it in Canada?
Thanks!
Elana says
Hey Jason, glad that you like the site and thanks for stopping by. Let me know how the fig newtons turn out.
TACA is an amazing organization isn’t it?
Elana
Jason says
Hi Elana,
I love your site and check it often for updates. These newtons look fantastic and I’ll be making up a batch this weekend. I’ve been involved with TACA for several years now – thanks for the mention. They are a wonderful group of people that truly care about the future for our kids… and society in general as a result.
Keep up the great posts!
J
Lisa Caputo says
May daughter cannot have almond flour. Can I substitute the almond flour for rice flour or allergy free baking flour?