Fig Rolls (a.k.a. Fig Newtons)
A cookie is just a cookie . . .
. . . but according to Wikipedia, a “Fig Newton” is the trademaked name that the Nabisco company uses for a fig roll. This is an homage to those cookies.
You will need to start with about 1lb of figs.
Chop them finely in the food processor.
Put about a cup of water in a pot . . .
. . . and mix in the chopped figs. Allow this to sit at room temperature for about 1 hour so the figs can re-hydrate.
Meanwhile, mix together 1/2 cup of butter, 1 egg, a splash of milk, a few drops of vanilla, a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of baking powder, a cup of sugar, and 1.75 cups of flour.
Mix until combined and smooth.
Divide the dough into two even portions and refrigerate for 1 hour.
After the figs have soaked, mix in 1 cup of sugar.
Cook the fig mixture over medium heat until is is almost the consistency of a jam. Watch this carefully as it cooks, as all of the sugar in there would make an awful mess if it burned on the bottom of the pot.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You want a sheet with at least 0.5″ to 0.75″ sides.
Retrieve one of the dough portions from the refrigerator.
Knuckle it out a bit.
On a well floured work surface, roll the dough to a uniform thickness, and use it to line the bottom of the baking sheet.
Spread on the fig filling.
Roll out some parchment paper, and flour it liberally. Roll the dough to a uniform thickness as before.
Take the dough on the parchment paper, and roll the whole thing around your rolling pin. This will allow you to easily transfer it to the top of the baking sheet by simply unrolling it from the pin.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.
The top should be just browned in spots.
Slice into squares for optimal recognition. Enjoy.
Recipe:
Citation: I put this recipe together from numerous sources, many years ago, and I don’t remember where I found each piece. Fig rolls as a genre are really common cookies, and the recipe is most likely older than anyone currently living, so I obviously make zero claim to any originality here. The Nabisco company “owns” the name “Fig Newton”, but I have not been in contact with them, and I make no claim that this homage recipe in any way reflects their recipe.
1 lb dried figs
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
0.5 cup butter
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
0.5 tsp vanilla
0.5 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1.75 cups flour
Chop up the dried figs as finely as possible, and soak them in water for about an hour to rehydrate them. If you are lucky enough to have fresh figs, just eat them instead of making them into jam for cookies; fresh figs are delicious. Add 1 cup of the sugar to the rehydrated figs and cook the mixture over medium heat until a jam like consistency is achieved. “Medium heat” is pretty key here, as the sugar content (both from the sugar, but also the figs, which are definitively sweet) makes the mixture prone to burning.
Beat together the other cup of sugar, along with the butter, egg, milk, and vanilla, until well mixed. Add the salt, baking powder, and flour, and mix well. Chill for 1 hour, then knead well, separate into two equal portions, and roll the dough out until the thickness is even. Line the bottom of baking dish with one half of the dough, spread the fig filling on, making sure that the thickness is pretty even, and cover it with the other half of the dough.
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Slice and serve.
Yield: 1 11×14 sheet