There’s nothing quite as comforting as biting into a cakey, moist Fig Newton. For me, it brings back all kinds of nostalgic childhood memories. The trouble with traditional Fig Newtons, though—even the ones baked at your local health food market—is that the dough is made with grains and the filling is tainted with refined sugar. Nothing comforting about that!
These babies, on the other hand, use blanched almond and coconut ours, and the sweetness in the filling comes from figs, apples, and apple juice. The dough is sturdy and easy to roll out, and the cookies end up golden and crispy on the outside while tender and plump on the inside. Delicious and nutritious!
Note: I love packing these cookies in our lunches because one cookie provides hours of energy. Also, feel free to freeze your leftover cookies in an air- tight container to keep them for up to 2 months.
1 cup dried figs, chopped
1 fuji apple, shredded
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup Fresh Squeezed Apple Juice
2 cups blanched almond flour
⅓ cup coconut palm sugar
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup coconut oil
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Combine all of the filling ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pot from the heat and let the filling cool for 5 minutes.
Transfer the fig mixture to a food processor and pulse until smooth. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Combine the almond flour, coconut sugar, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and mix to remove any lumps. In another medium bowl, combine the oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well until a dough forms. Divide the dough into 4 even balls. Transfer them to the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.
Cut out eight 6 × 15-inch pieces of parchment paper and place one ball of dough in between two of them. Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough evenly into a 12 × 5-inch rectangle. Do the same with the remaining balls of dough, so that you have 4 rectangles almost identical in size.
Cover two of the rectangles with the filling, keeping a 1/4-inch border free of filling. Carefully place the remaining rectangles of dough over the filling-coated rectangles. Pinch the edges of the 2 dough pieces all the way around to form a seal.
Transfer the logs of dough, along with the parchment paper that they are on, to a rimmed baking sheet. Slice each log into twelve 1-inch cookies. Separate them slightly so that none of the cookies are touching each other.
Bake for 15–20 minutes, until the dough turns golden.
Calories: 129
Fat: 8g
Carbohydrates: 10g
Sodium: 69mg
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 3g
Sugar: 6g