# homemade & vegan Fig Newtons recipe..

After many many attempts (more or less conclusive), here is my homemade fig Newtons recipe, finally ! Super easy to make, these homemade fig newtons are just so good they will be eaten in 2 sec.. moms can treat their kids during the holidays and for the older of us we can be children again and indulge our nostalgia with these delicious biscuits.. My fav at the moment ; a good Disney dvd, throw, cup of tea and fig Newton… complete and utter bliss 😉

Ingredients :

For the fig paste /

150 g of figs (I bought these quite ripe from an organic shop, it is easier to blend)
150 g of dates or date paste
1 tbsp of liquid vanilla extract.
2 tbsp of unsweetened apple sauce

For the dough /

1/vegan version :

100 rice flour + 100g small spelt + 50g of lupin flour (total 250 g)
8 tbsp of olive oil (roughly 9cl)
4 tbsp of orange blossom (roughly 5cl)
4 tbsp of water (roughly 5cl)
4 tbsp of brown sugar or coco sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 sachet of vanilla sugar
1 pinch of cinnamon

2/ Vegetarian version

170 g of flour + 30 g powdered almond or hazelnut
3 tbsp of orange blossom
100 g of softened butter (room temperature) or replace with olive oil if you like.
50 g of icing sugar
2 tbsp of cream (or soy cream or compote to replace the egg)
1 pinch of salt
2 pinches of powdered cinnamon

Preparation of the fig paste

Remove the cores of the dates and cut them + the fig into pieces. (I used scissors as my figs were quite soft). If they are too hard, add boiling water and leave for 10/20 minutes but no longer and drain. Put dates & fig pieces into the mixer with the vanilla and apple sauce to obtain a rather smooth paste. Set aside..

1/ The dough / vegan version:

In a large bowl add the flours, sugar, salt, vanilla sugar, olive oil, orange blossom and water. Mix to obtain a rather smooth dough and form a ball. Do not work the dough too hard. Leave to rest in a cool place for a while.

Remove the pastry from the fridge. Do not sprinkle your worktop with flour otherwise the pastry will crack or break.. trust me on this 😉 The best way is to use a silicone baking mat to do this ..
Separate into 4 balls.
Roll out each ball into a rectangle shape ( not too thick).
Add some of the filling to the length of each rectangle and with a knife or a pizza cutter removed the untidy edges in order to have a nice clean and neat rectangle.
Delicately close to form sausage shapes, (I use my silicone baking mat to help me close it) and then roll out again so that they stick together properly (here too I use the silicone dish to help me, and ensure that the pastry does not break, stick or split)
Cut the sausages into little portions roughly 4/5 centimeters to get 15/16 biscuits, I always seem to make less as I make them a little too big…
Place onto the baking tray covered with baking paper and flatten them with a fork , just like the real deal 😉
Cook for 25 minutes at 180°C in a fan oven…
Time to taste… they are even better after several days in the fridge in a Tupperware container.

2/ The dough, vegetarian version w/ butter

Mix the flour with the salt, sugar, cinnamon and the powdered almond or hazelnut in a large bowl. Incorporate the butter cut into small pieces and rub to make a breadcrumbs texture with your fingertips. Finally add the cream (or the apple sauce), the orange blossom and form a homogeneous ball. Wrap in cling film and put in a cool place for at least 1 hour.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and light sprinkle your worktop with flour (do not add too much flour otherwise the pastry may crack or break, try to use a silicone baking mat to work the dough, it is easier that way . )
Separate into 4 balls.
Roll out each ball into a rectangle shape ( not too thick).
Add some of the filling to the length of each rectangle and with a knife or a pizza cutter removed the untidy edges in order to have a nice clean and neat rectangle.
Delicately close to form sausage shapes, (I use my silicone baking mat to help me close it) and then roll out again so that they stick together properly (here too I use the silicone dish to help me, and ensure that the pastry does not break or split)
Cut the sausages into little portions roughly 4/5 centimeters to get 15/16 biscuits, I always seem to make less as I make them a little too big…
Place onto the baking tray covered with baking paper and flatten them with a fork , just like the real deal 😉
Cook for 25 minutes at 180°C in a fan oven…
Time to taste… they are even better after several days in the fridge in a Tupperware container.

And voilà 😉 This recipe is always a success and my fig Newtons never last more than a few hours.. One last tip, when cutting the dough sausages into portions, try to cut SMALL pieces.. I always cut them to big.. But my last attempt was perfect, so the smaller the better, even better than the real deal ! Let me know if you tried and test this recipe, and feel free to share your impressions !! <3

xoxo