I'm new to pintrest. I don't know how really into it I even am. But, I can't help but be sucked in by pictures of amazing food. More often than not, I'm sorely disappointed. When I click on a picture, it leads me to some recipe that really just involves adding "special" ingredients to boxed cake mix. Now, I'm in no way exactly against this; I applaud creativity and I get that making things from scratch isn't something everyone is ready to jump right into. However, I do take issue with descriptions like "Best cake ever!" for recipes that involve dehydrated milk, fake butter, and ingredients that I will probably never know how to pronounce.
Anyway, I saw a pin for a recipe site that caters to moms and dads who want to try and feed their little ones foods that are good for the body and the soul. This idea resonated with my own philosophy, so I thought I'd check some of the recipes out and see just how "good" they were.
I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. There are several recipes that I'm hoping to try, but the first one I decided to give a spin was for homemade fig newtons. They were remarkably simple, required no special pans or utensils, and tasted great! I thought they were still a bit sweet, while my husband thought they weren't sweet enough....so maybe they were just right!
Fig Newtons
makes 16-20 cookies; adapted from Weelicious
Preheat the oven to 325*F. Place the chopped figs into a bowl and cover with hot water. Allow them to sit for about ten minutes.
Retrieve the figs with a slotted spoon and place into a food processor. Add 1 tablespoon of the soaking liquid and the 1 tablespoon of honey. Puree into a smooth spread.
Cream the butter, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of honey well. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until smooth. Slowly add the flour and mix until a dough forms.
Divide the dough in half. Place half the dough onto parchment paper. Top with plastic wrap and roll out until about 12 inches long and 4 inches wide ( I would probably make it a little less than 4 inches wide the next time; the final cookies were a bit bigger than I wanted). Spread half the fig mixture along one long side of the rolled out dough. In other words, you should have about a 12 inch "stripe" of fig puree on one side of the dough, about 1-2inches wide with a small border left plain. Fold the plain side of the dough over and gently press the two sides together to form one very long fig newton. Using a knife or pizza cutter, slice the log into about 10 pieces.
Repeat with the remaining dough and fig puree. Place the cut cookies onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. There are several recipes that I'm hoping to try, but the first one I decided to give a spin was for homemade fig newtons. They were remarkably simple, required no special pans or utensils, and tasted great! I thought they were still a bit sweet, while my husband thought they weren't sweet enough....so maybe they were just right!
Fig Newtons
makes 16-20 cookies; adapted from Weelicious
- 1 cup roughly chopped dried figs, stems removed
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup cane sugar (I used a little less than 1/4 cup)
- 2 tbs honey
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
Preheat the oven to 325*F. Place the chopped figs into a bowl and cover with hot water. Allow them to sit for about ten minutes.
Retrieve the figs with a slotted spoon and place into a food processor. Add 1 tablespoon of the soaking liquid and the 1 tablespoon of honey. Puree into a smooth spread.
Cream the butter, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of honey well. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until smooth. Slowly add the flour and mix until a dough forms.
Divide the dough in half. Place half the dough onto parchment paper. Top with plastic wrap and roll out until about 12 inches long and 4 inches wide ( I would probably make it a little less than 4 inches wide the next time; the final cookies were a bit bigger than I wanted). Spread half the fig mixture along one long side of the rolled out dough. In other words, you should have about a 12 inch "stripe" of fig puree on one side of the dough, about 1-2inches wide with a small border left plain. Fold the plain side of the dough over and gently press the two sides together to form one very long fig newton. Using a knife or pizza cutter, slice the log into about 10 pieces.
Repeat with the remaining dough and fig puree. Place the cut cookies onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.