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
Karis says
I used 6 T honey and 2 T molasses (cutting the sweetners by 1/4 c) in place of agave (an evil high fructose product) and yacon (prohibitively expensive). I also used apricots instead of figs because it’s what I had, and cut the lemon juice to about 1-2 T, using water for the remaining liquid (I didn’t need the whole 1/2 c). The bars are really good but quite greasy. I think that I will either reduce the oil next time or replace it with applesauce because almond flour seems to have a very healthy amount of its own oil.
Britt in Tx says
My mom loves fig Newton’s so this is a great and healthy snack that I can make for her:* thanks alot
Ashley says
Made these last night! Here is my take: http://www.bodhi-life.com/2012/10/elanas-pantry-fig-newtons.html
Thank you!
Rosita says
Elana I made these for myself and my brother who is wheat intolerant. They came out perfect, I did not cut any corners, they are addictive. I never cut corners when using your recipes I think it would be an insult to you and all of your hard work and expertise. Thank God for you Elana.
Karen says
Just made these and they are amazing!! Thank you, Elana so much. I did use molasses instead of yacon syrup, because I’m not sure if I’m allergic to it. And I used orange juice instead of lemon juice, and coconut oil I stead of grapeseed oil, because of allergies.
Teresa says
Best fig newton I have ever eaten, and I LOVE fig newtons! I used mostly coconut palm syrup in place of Yacon & Agave, and a little cassava (tapioca) syrup. The lemon in the filling was very strong, so I ended up doubling the recipe (except for the lemon), and then added a few extra figs as well. I like more of a true fig flavor, so the next time I make this I will add 1 T of lemon juice at a time and taste. I think 2 T would be enough so that you still taste mostly fig. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that I can have fig newtons again. This recipe takes a little work, but when these came out of the oven, I decided that it is so worth it! So glad I got to double the recipe because these will not last in this house. Thank You, Elana, for bringing fig newtons back into my life! I love all of your recipes!
Catherine says
I have been waiting to make these as I couldn’t find all the ingredients so I finally checked online for substitutions. I first used -:
Arrowhead Mills All purpose baking mix instead of the almond flour.
The fake lemon juice that you can buy in a plastic container that looks like a lemon.
Honey instead of the agave nectar.
Brown sugar instead of the yacon syrup.
Anyway,I know you dont answer questions on substitutions, so I wont ask.
My dough is in the fridge at this time chilling for an hour, therefore my question is about the dough. My dough is very dry and seems more crumbly than a dough that can be rolled out. Do you know if there is anything I can / should add to make it more rollable? I have been looking forward so long to have a fig newton which was a favorite of mine, before being diagnosed with Celiac nearly 18 years ago.
Having tried your date bars which were excellant, I tried them again using the figs instead of the dates. They were a disaster as you can imagine.LOL. Anyway, do you know what I can add to my crumblly dough. Thanyou for your time & I will let you know how they turn out if at all?
Living in a town of approximately 200-300 residents, the stores near me are not very big and therefore dont carry many GF products. I buy most of my GF products online. Well, thanks again, I anxiousely await your answer, Cathy.
Shelley says
Any suggestions for a family that can’t use wheat or almond flour?
Linda J says
Hello Elana,
For the fig newtons/bars, is it possible to substitute brown rice flour or soy flour for the blanched almond flour?
Thank you,
Linda
Ema says
Just a note the Yacon Syrup you link to has been discontined.
elana says
Ema,
Thank you! The link has been fixed.
Elana