Fig Newtons

I think I have a slight obsession with dried figs - in particular the soft kind. Honestly if you’ve never tried soft dried figs, then give them a go! They’re surprisingly moorish with a sweet caramel flavour.

As the title suggests, here I have my own version of fig newtons. Initially, I was going to bake them as the original, with the figgy filling wrapped in a biscuit dough, but I don’t have the patience for that - instead I pressed, spread and crumbled. 

I think fig newtons divide a lot of people, with a lot of people not liking the seeded presence.
​If you do however like me, then you’re going to love this recipe.    

Enjoy!

 Love Alex, Ballerina Bites. Xx
PS: Be sure to tag me @ballerina_bites on Instagram so I can see your wonderful recreations!

Ingredients
Dough
2 cups quick oats
1 cup almond meal
¼ tsp fine salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp coconut oil or butter, melted
3 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling
440g dried soft figs
⅓ cup boiling water
A squeeze of lemon juice

Method
Preheat the oven to 160°c and line a 20cm square brownie tin with baking paper.

Add the oats into a food processor and blend until a flour. 
Now add the remaining dough ingredients and blend until it comes together.
If you find the dough is a little dry, add a few extra tbsp of water - how many extra you may need, depends on the oats you’ve used. 
Evenly press ⅔ ‘s of the dough into the lined tin and reserve the rest later. 
Set this aside. 

Clean out your food processor using a paper towel, it doesn’t have to be completely washed clean. 

Remove the woody stalks from the figs using a knife, then pop into your food processor. 
Pour in the boiling water, with a squeeze of lemon juice, and blend until a paste. 

Scoop and evenly spread the paste over the base - you may need to wet your spoon/ spatula or fingers for this. 

Now crumble over the remaining dough and slightly press into the fig paste.   

Bake for 30- 35 minutes, or until golden.

Allow to cool completely before slicing. 

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week

Yields 9