These easy Homemade Fig Newtons have a jammy fig center enveloped by a slightly sweet, soft cookie. Every bite takes us right back to our childhood! Yep, these are pretty much perfect cookies.
Homemade Fig Newton Cookies
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.
What are Fig Newtons?
If you haven’t had a Fig Newton yet, I want to start off by expressing my deepest condolences. Fig Newtons are an iconic packaged cookie with a 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 😉
Fig Newton Ingredients
If you’re ready to get to fig newton making then you’re going to need to stock up on the following ingredients:
Butter: any unsalted butter will do, just make sure to fully soften your butter to room temperature
Brown Sugar: Brown sugar will help to deepen the flavor of these
Eggs: Use large eggs at room temperature! This will ensure that the eggs incorporate seamlessly into the room temperature butter.
Vanilla: High quality vanilla is seriously a game changer. It will really elevate your baked goods to the next level and give these fig newtons the perfect flavor profile.
Flour: We used a mixture of all purpose and whole wheat pastry flour to give these homemade fig newtons a hearty chew.
Cinnamon: Cinnamon gives these fig newtons a warm, cozy spice. Don’t leave it out!
Baking Soda: Baking soda gives just the amount of rise for these soft and tender cookies.
Figs: Uh duh! Black mission figs will form the chewy, figgy center of these homemade cookies.
Oranges: You’ll use both orange zest and orange juice in this recipe for a zesty, juice punch to round out the flavor profile.
Honey: Nothing wrong with a little honey 🙂 The honey will sweeten and bind the fig layer together for a sweet, chewy finish.
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.
How to Store Fig Newtons
These cookies keep well in a sealed container on your countertop for up to a week. You can also store them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months!
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and orange zest.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, whole wheat pastry flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients over the wet, then mix until just combined.
Scoop the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 day.
To make the fig filling, place all ingredients except for the honey into a small saucepan and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, until the liquids have evaporated and the figs begin to plump up. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Then, place all ingredients in a food processor, drizzle in honey, and pulse until a thick paste is formed. Remove paste from food processor, then place in a large ziplock bag.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a large baking tray with a silicon mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
On a floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a 10″ x14″ rectangle, using a knife or pizza cutter to cut even edges. Cut the dough lengthwise into three 3.5″x14″ strips.
Cut a 3/4 inch tip into the corner of your ziplock bag and squeeze the paste down the middle of each strip of dough. Then carefully fold each edge of dough on top of the fig paste, making a log, sealing the edges as best you can. Roll each log slightly to bond the dough together, then place seam side down onto your baking tray.
Bake for 20 minutes at 325°F, then turn on the broiler for 1 minute to slightly brown the tops of the cookies. Remove from oven and cut each log into 2″ cookies. Devour!
Keywords: how to make fig newtons, easy cookie recipe, jam cookies
This dough was impossible to work with, after refrigerating for a little over an hour the dough was too hard and tough to roll out, when it warmed up due to working it it was a sticky mess. There was also double the filling needed
I can’t even give this recipe one star.
The dough was awful; sticky; couldn’t roll it out; it stuck to the wax paper I tried to roll it out on, the rolling pin; my fingers; everything! Yes, I used a little flour but no luck; and I’m a pretty seasoned baker. I tried to make some sort of long flat shape, and put some filling on it; and tried to seal the edges. More gloppy mess. I put it in the oven anyway. While that was baking I tried some of the leftover filling from the pan; hoping for a sweet bite of fig “jam”; and it was so salty, it tasted like I ate a 1/2 teaspoon of salt- by itself. The recipe called for 1/2 teaspoon of salt. It shouldn’t have had any at all. I couldn’t taste even a hint of sweetness from the figs. Also, way too much cinnamon, and I only used 1/2 teaspoon as per recipe.
The blobs came out of the oven with a marbled looking jam on/through them; I cut them into small “squares” and they tasted horrible. I’m just sorry I wasted a pint of fresh figs and a lot of my time. I’ll be buying good old store bought fig newtons from now on.
As most “seasoned bakers” know, unlike basic cooking, the practice of baking is a science. Kathy, It appears you did not follow the recipe. I only suggest this because you wrote how you tasted the fig jam from the pan, “it was so salty.” If you’d read the recipe correctly you’d have seen the salt only goes into the cookie dough and not the fig filling. Perhaps you’ll want to try the recipe again, reading it more carefully this time? Either way…Bake on, dear friend, bake on. Peace!
Oops! I meant to suggest to Kathy, since she altered the recipe by using fresh figs, not dried as the ingredients call for, it changes the other components of ingredients as well. The water needed to rehydrate the dried figs…the salt, etc
Leave a comment and rate this recipe!
Tasted great… overall great recipe
Would like a tip on working the dough. Stickey mess!!
I am decent at rolling logs. But this was too stickey.
★★★★★
This is the best recipe and comes out almost perfect every time but found it is the best when I use actual wheat pastry flour. This is a 5 starter.
This dough was impossible to work with, after refrigerating for a little over an hour the dough was too hard and tough to roll out, when it warmed up due to working it it was a sticky mess. There was also double the filling needed
I can’t even give this recipe one star.
The dough was awful; sticky; couldn’t roll it out; it stuck to the wax paper I tried to roll it out on, the rolling pin; my fingers; everything! Yes, I used a little flour but no luck; and I’m a pretty seasoned baker. I tried to make some sort of long flat shape, and put some filling on it; and tried to seal the edges. More gloppy mess. I put it in the oven anyway. While that was baking I tried some of the leftover filling from the pan; hoping for a sweet bite of fig “jam”; and it was so salty, it tasted like I ate a 1/2 teaspoon of salt- by itself. The recipe called for 1/2 teaspoon of salt. It shouldn’t have had any at all. I couldn’t taste even a hint of sweetness from the figs. Also, way too much cinnamon, and I only used 1/2 teaspoon as per recipe.
The blobs came out of the oven with a marbled looking jam on/through them; I cut them into small “squares” and they tasted horrible. I’m just sorry I wasted a pint of fresh figs and a lot of my time. I’ll be buying good old store bought fig newtons from now on.
As most “seasoned bakers” know, unlike basic cooking, the practice of baking is a science. Kathy, It appears you did not follow the recipe. I only suggest this because you wrote how you tasted the fig jam from the pan, “it was so salty.” If you’d read the recipe correctly you’d have seen the salt only goes into the cookie dough and not the fig filling. Perhaps you’ll want to try the recipe again, reading it more carefully this time? Either way…Bake on, dear friend, bake on. Peace!
Oops! I meant to suggest to Kathy, since she altered the recipe by using fresh figs, not dried as the ingredients call for, it changes the other components of ingredients as well. The water needed to rehydrate the dried figs…the salt, etc
I already have fig/lemon jam I’d like to use for the filling. How much will I need for the recipe?
Hi Trudy! I would say about 1 cup!