Fresh Fig Newtons Cookies. Vegan. Gluten Free. Knead to Cook.
Last week after an appointment down in the Philadelphia area I popped by Trader Joe’s. I laid my eyes on a huge container of fresh California figs for $4.99 and instantly became elated. I love figs. Fig season… then pumpkin season. Seriously, in my humble opinion, the best season of the year. I’ve been using them on arugula and balsamic glazed pizza. In smoothies. And I had to… I had to make fig newtons. Perfect back-to-school snack that’s healthy enough to grab for breakfast too.
Cookie dough ingredients:
1.5 cups of Bob’s Redmill gluten free rolled oats
1 heaping cup of walnuts (I used black walnuts)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon of maple syrup
Fig Filling:
6 figs, washed, stem removed
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
2 tablespoon of white chia seeds (or black) I used Mamma Chia
Optional: Coconut Sugar
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat.
Into your food processor add your oats, walnuts, salt and cinnamon. Blend for about 1 minute or until a fine powder is achieved. Remove and spoon into a mixer bowl. Add your maple syrup and blend until fully incorporated. Turn that off and focus on the filling.
Into your food processor (no need to wash the bowl out) add your figs, syrup and chia. Blend for about 40 seconds. I stopped and scraped down the sides. Blend again for another 10 or so seconds. Then let that sit and the chia absorb the excess liquid and blow up a bit (12 minutes).
On your counter or rolling pad, add some gluten free flour and then your prepared dough. Dust your rolling pin with some of the flour and roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick. I did a circle or a rectangle would also work.
After your chia mixture has had enough time to thicken up, spoon that onto half of your dough mixture. Then fold over the other half on top of the half with the chia/fig mixture. Seal the edge with a fork. Optional: dust the top with coconut sugar.
Add gently (I used a spatula) to your baking sheet. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until your edges are golden. Please watch this as everyone’s ovens are truly calibrated differently. Once golden edges are achieved, remove and let cool. Slice however you prefer.
Fresh Fig Newtons Cookies. Vegan. Gluten Free. Knead to Cook.
My training week runs from Sunday to Saturday. My training calendar runs from Monday – Sunday. Last week I ran Monday/Sunday -64 miles. Seriously never in my life have I ever. But my training week looked like this: I did 50 miles in 4 days and my longest training run this cycle at 22 miles. Thankfully this time outside. Last time I ran 22 it was too icy outside (on 2/22) and ran it on the treadmill. Yes-I did say that. I think I still need therapy for that one. So onto this week.
Saturday: rest day
Sunday: Trail run (which is my favorite) 14 miles
Monday: 5.22 miles on the treadmill plus strength training
Finished out August with 201.2 miles which I worked really hard for considering we were traveling throughout Europe for two of those weeks. See my August running recap below in pics.
This was a rainbow filled pic from the trail yesterday that my husband took. Stay tuned as I’ll be featuring this tank I’m wearing in a review later this week along with a new running watch review.
Some stats from my new watch that I was quite proud of. You all know that I’m running training my heart over speed. Yesterday was no different. I was quite proud of these numbers. That dip was when I finished 8 and met my husband at the car.
And finally the announcement I’ve been waiting to share… I’m so honored.
That’s it from here. Happy Monday! Happy back-to-school! Happy last day of August!
— Knead to Cook
I am loving this healthy take on fig newtons. Definitely a recipe I need to try – they do look delicious!
Those fig bars look delicious! I just saw fresh figs at my TJ’s, too. I guess I’ll have to pick some up now. Congratulations on contributing to Lucy – looking forward to reading!
I’d love to make these, but I’m allergic to nuts. :/ Do you have any substitutions for the walnuts?
I haven’t tested but wondering if coconut flour would work. May be worth a test run.
I have a load of flax seeds. You think that would work to sub the chia seeds?
Flax and chia serve different purposes. Chia bulks up and absorbs liquid, which is why it works so well in this recipe. I wouldn’t recommend subbing it out. oxo
Has anyone tried this with dried figs, maybe reconstituting them, I’m struggling to find fresh for a last minute get together?
I haven’t. You can always dry soaking them in some warm water and see if it works. Great idea! oxo
Hi! Absolutely love your page as a fellow runner and your recipes! I want to make these today, and I was wondering if they are still sweet and yummy without the coconut sugar? Also, would you use honey also instead of maple syrup or is maple syrup better? Thanks so much!
I’m sorry I’ve been MIA. We were dropping our daughter off for a mission trip in Atlanta. I haven’t tried the recipe sans sugar. I don’t use honey as it isn’t vegan but it would be a fine substitute. Please let me know if you tried with the changes as I would be happy to note the results in my post. Thank you. oxo
Has anyone tried coconut flour instead of walnuts? any reason why it wouldn’t work?
I haven’t tried but great suggestion. I will test it out and report back as soon as I find fresh figs 🙂