These Homemade Fig Newtons are a simple recipe that comes together quickly with fig jam and whole wheat flour. This is a healthy vegan cookie recipe for the fig-lovers in your life.
Why are figs not vegan?
Figs are not vegan because they contain dead wasps. Figs rely on pollination from bees and wasps, but during this process the insect will get trapped inside the fruit and die (this can happen when fertilized fig wasps lay their eggs).
It is unlikely that you will find a lot of dead wasps inside the jar of fig jam used in this recipe. If you would rather keep these cookies vegan, just substitute your favorite kind of jam or jelly! The rest of this recipe is free of animal products.
How To Make Fig Newtons
- Make a dough with flour, coconut oil, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, an egg replacement, vanilla, and orange zest.
- Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle and slice into three long strips. Fill the strips with fig jam, roll, and bake.
- Slice and serve!
Can I use fig honey butter to make fig newtons?
Yes, fig honey butter can be used to make fig newtons. Fig Honey Butter is a popular item at Trader Joe's and can definitely be substituted for regular fig jam in this recipe. I also provide an option to make your own fig jam with dried figs, as those can sometimes be easier to find. Of course as mentioned above, many types of jam would be delicious here.
More fig recipes:
Homemade Fig Newtons
Ingredients
For dough:
- 1 and ¾ cup white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup coconut oil measured from softened but not melted state
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- 3 TBS aquafaba the liquid from a can of chickpeas* (see notes for substitutes)
- 2 TBS neutral oil
- Splash of almond milk as needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of one clementine or ½ orange
- ¾ cup fig jam or see notes for homemade filling version
Instructions
- Begin making the dough by whisking flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a food processor or large standing mixer, cream coconut oil, sweetener, applesauce, aquafaba (or substitute), vanilla, and orange zest for a few minutes until a cohesive mixture has formed. Be sure to scrape down the sides every now and then.
- One this is smooth, gradually add half of the flour mixture to processor bowl and slowly combine. Add second half of flour and mix until a stiff dough forms.
- Remove dough from processor and wrap in plastic or reusable food wrap like BeesWrap. Let dough chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, and up to one day. I do not recommend skipping this step as it helps hydrate your flour.
- While dough is chilling, drain figs completely and add to food processor bowl along with apple sauce, maple syrup, and cinnamon. This will be fairly thick.
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Remove chilled dough and roll out on a well-floured surface. From this rectangle, slice 3 even strips about 3 inches wide and 13 inches long.
- Using a small spoon, line the center of each strip with fig filling. Be sure not to fill more than ¼-inch wide, as this may make it difficult to fold. Once filling is added, bend edges of dough over fig jam to seal and place the seams on the underside of each "log." Press down on the tops of each log to flatten slightly
- Place three logs onto a parchment lined sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, place onto a wire rack, and slice into 1-inch long cookies. Let cool completely before enjoying. Best stored in the fridge.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Fran says
Hi Emily, I wanted to say that while your recipe looks great, your statement about figs being non-vegan is incorrect and is unfortunately misinformation. 1. most commercial figs are grown without wasps as their primary pollinators 2. when fig wasps die because of the chemical compounds present in the fruit, this is not because of humans- this is a natural part of their life cycle that will always happen regardless of whether we eat the figs or not. This is a result of the fig plant protecting itself from a predator and is a part of the natural lifecycle of both of these organisms and is a natural part of their interaction with one another. Veganism is the practice of humans not participating in that, so figs would only be nonvegan if we deliberately killed the wasps in order to produce figs. Since that is not the case, figs are vegan. This is by no means a criticism of you, I look forward to trying your recipe and just wanted to share my point of view as a biologist and vegan! 🙂
Hope this helps, I can't wait to try your recipe.
Emily says
Hi Fran! I appreciate you reaching out and commenting. I don't take this as a criticism and also really agree with what you're saying! It's a bit tricky online with so many views, so hearing from a biologist is very cool 🙂 I will update the post as soon as I can! - Thank you, Emily
Sue says
Always looking for a healthy alternative to store-bought Newtons...thanks!
Emily says
Thank you, I think you'd like these!!