Homemade Fig Newtons

There are certain cookies that instantly take me back to my childhood—Dunkaroos, Famous Amos, animal crackers. Lunches where you’d eagerly open up your brown paper bag to see what Mom packed for dessert. Afternoons coming home from school when you’d reach into the snack drawer for a treat.

Though I’d like to believe all cookies were created equal, there was one that always stood out for me. A cookie that I couldn’t get enough of. Fig Newtons. 

That jammy fig center enveloped by a slightly sweet, soft cookie. The crunch of the fig seeds as you bite in. The slight citrus tang you get in each and every mouthful. Yep, they’re pretty much perfect.

So in making my own homemade Fig Newtons, I channeled my inner child and tasted every step of the way, and wound up with a pretty damn good recipe. The cookies have the same shape and texture as the real thing, and the fig tastes spot on thanks to some fresh orange zest and a hint of cinnamon.

Plus, nearly everyone that sees them will be instantly transported to their childhood, making the sharing of these cookies extra special!

Also, dipping these in milk is not optional 😉

Tips for making homemade Fig Newtons

The individual parts of this homemade Fig Newton recipe are fairly straightforward. Make a batch of cookie dough and refrigerate it for at least an hour. Make the fig filling and blend it up a food processor until it’s the right consistency. Easy, right? Right!

But once you’ve prepped the cookie dough and the spiced fig filling, you have to assemble the cookies. This is the part that requires a little extra brain power. To make these cookies, you’ll first need to roll out the cookie dough into a large rectangle. Then, cut the rectangle into three large strips.

Once you’ve cut the cookie dough, fill a plastic bag with the fig filling. Snip off one edge of the bag and pipe a thick line of filling into the center of each cookie dough strip. Then you simply have to fold the dough over the filling (be careful!) and seal the edges as best you can.

The filled cookie dough logs get baked as is, and then you need to cut the logs into Fig Newton-sized cookies once they come out of the oven. The whole process goes by surprisingly quickly and is really easy! As long as your cookie dough logs are sealed properly you should have no problems making these homemade Fig Newtons.

These cookies keep well in a sealed container on your countertop for up to a week.

More easy cookie recipes from Broma Bakery:

Cherry Linzers 

Softbatch Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

White Chocolate Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Maple Chocolate Chip Cookies