the fig, the newton, and the jam

our tastes continually change the more our eyes are opened to ingredients we’ve never seen before, never used to like, or just never paid much attention to. just like our newfound love of asparagus, figs have become gold in this household.

as a kid i used to love fig newtons. but i knew nothing about the fruit, and to me they were just cookies that seemed healthy since they had ‘fruit’ in them. i probably couldn’t have recognized a fig in a basket of fruit, nor would i have realized how beautiful their flesh is or how great they taste, both savory and sweet.

wil came home with two crates of figs. very sad figs, most of them bruised and beaten and ready to be put to rest, as the first yield of their season is nearing an end, until fall. what a perfect opportunity to utilize them in a way that allows us to enjoy the fig flavor over time…jam! and lucky you, dear reader, you get a second recipe…feeling ambitious, i made a batch of homemade fig newtons as well.

fig jam
adapted from here; more like a chutney if we want to be particular.

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 lb. figs (about 12-14 figs)
1 cinnamon stick
2 two inch slices of lemon peel, both pierced with 2 whole cloves each (otherwise you wouldn’t be able to find the cloves once cooked)
1/2 lemon juiced (my lemon was very sad, so i added some orange juice to get a decent amount)

dissolve water and sugar together in a saucepot over medium heat.

remove the stems from the figs and cut into quarters*. add figs and rest of ingredients into pot once your water/sugar syrup is clear. bring to a simmer, and continue simmering over low heat (uncovered) for about 1 hour or until thickened. remove from heat and cool. store in jar or container, and refrigerate.

*i cut mine into quarters, but by the time it was done cooking the jam was too chunky for my preference, so i threw it in the food processer real quick to get a more spreadable consistency. but i know if you started with smaller pieces it’d cook down to a nice chunky jam, without the need of the food pro.

homemade fig newtons
adapted from here

filling:
1 1/2 cup chopped figs (about 1/4-1/2 inch size pieces)*
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup orange juice (i happened to have blood orange from a drink wil bought, but it originally called for apple)
1/4 cup sugar
it called for some citrus zest, but i didn’t have any…could be good with it.

cookie dough:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg white
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange juice (again, no zest on hand)
1 1/2 cups flour

combine all filling ingredients in saucepan, bring to a boil and then let simmer uncovered to an hour or so…till thick. use a food processor or blender to get it to a smooth spreadable consistency. set aside to cool.**

cream together the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes on medium speed in a mixer with the paddle attachment. scrape down the sides, and then beat in the egg, vanilla, and orange. scrape down again and add the flour and beat on low until the dough comes together. wrap in plastic into a disc and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

preheat to 350; line baking sheet with parchment. (i didn’t read this part and just used my silpat and they slid all over the sheet throughout baking when my sheet bent from the heat!)

cut the dough in half, keeping the second half in the fridge while you work with the first…just to keep it cold. roll out the portion of dough into an 8×12 rectangle, and slice in half, making two 4×12 strips. spoon the filling down the middle of each strip, then tri-folding it closed…press the seam. carefully place the ‘roll’ seam side down onto baking sheet. repeat with second strip, and then repeat all those steps for the second half of the batter in the fridge. 

put sheet of four rolls into fridge or freezer for 10-20 minutes, to firm them up to make slicing easier. slice rolls into size of your choice…8 cookies per roll looked close to the ‘original’ size to me. bake 12-15 minutes, until golden; let cool, and store airtight! they’re a little crisp and sugar cookie-ish the day of, but they’ll soften by the next day or so.

*the original called for dried figs & a higher proportion of liquid if that’s the route you’d like to go.

**after making the jam, and then making this filling, i’d just assume you could just as easily use any fig jam of your choosing (or any fruit for that matter!), especially when you can’t find fresh or dried figs.