Homemade Fig Newtons

I don't believe my mother ever bought commercial fig newtons (you remember, don't you? The yellow packaging with the clear tray to hold the squares?). But somehow along the way I ate a Fig Newton or two - and remember them fondly.

It almost seemed like fate when that Boastful Baker post appeared in my reader - Homemade Fig Newton's. My husband looked at me strangely and asked me if they wouldn't be cheaper and easier to just buy - well, of course they would, but why, when you can just make them in your own kitchen? I jotted dried Black Mission figs onto my grocery list.

The recipe Melissa presented was from "Desserts From The Yard" by Sherry Yard and looked delicious even if a bit daunting - it's an all day or over night process.

Homemade Fig Bars

Filling:
1 cup finely chopped Black Mission figs (I was surprised to find these so easily, figs have this exotic stigma, too much so, or so I thought, for my small town grocery store)
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup apple juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp grated orange zest

Cookie Dough:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp grated orange zest
1 large egg white (did you know how easy it is to freeze extra egg whites? I've recently started saving them when a recipe calls for only the yolk, and I'm somewhat pleased with myself!)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1. Make the filling by combining the figs, water, apple juice and sugar in a medium saucepan and bringing to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook at a bare simmer for 1-2 hours until the figs are so soft that they're spreadable.

2. Transfer mixture to a food processor or blender, add the orange zest and process until smooth. Remove from food processor and allow to cool.

3. Make the dough by creaming the butter, sugar and orange zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, for 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Scrape down the bowl and paddle. Add the egg white and vanilla and beat in. Scrape down the bowl and paddle again. Add the flour and beat on low speed until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours.

4. Place racks in middle and lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12x16 rectangle. Cut into 4 equal strips, each 12x4 inches. Spoon a line of filling down the center of each strip. Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges together. Place on parchment lined baking sheets, seam side down.

6. Using a serrated knife, slice each log on the diagonal into 10 cookies. Bake, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway though, for 12-15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack.

My fig bars disappointed me somewhat although that almost chewy, deliciously figgy filling was enough to convince me I was going to try making these again. I'll let you know how it goes.

Homemade Fig Newtons