Double the Fun: Homemade Fig Newton – Gluten Free and Whole Wheat

by 47 Comments

#CookieMonth14 Banner

NATIONAL COOKIE MONTH

October is National Cookie Month and I’m teaming up with a great group of Bloggers to celebrate cookies! Each blogger is unique in the style they bring to the table so this should be fun.

Each week we will present fabulous cookie recipes along with tips, tricks and great ideas to make amazing cookies. The holidays are just around the corner so follow along this month and get ahead of the game. Organize, plan and put a few cookies in the freezer.  Then sit back and relax when everyone else is stressed out and a bit crazy. Wouldn’t that be nice!  

Double the Fun: Homemade Fig Newtons; 2 recipes Gluten Free and Whole Wheat FAMILY FAVORITES: HOMEMADE FIG NEWTONS BAKE-OFF

 I received  free products for writing this post. As always the opinions are entirely my own.

This week I took up the challenge with my fellow Cookie Month 14 bloggers to share our family favorite cookie. Since Bob’s Red Mill generously provided me with some 100% Stone Ground Organic Whole Wheat Flour and Gluten Free 1 to 1 baking flour I thought it would be a great opportunity to do a little bake-off with one of my favorite cookies. Here in my home the homemade Fig Newton is king! I’m not talking about the hard, dry cookies you buy in the store either. It’s homemade baby and I can assure you, there is no comparison!

Double the Fun: Homemade Fig Newtons; 2 recipes Gluten Free and Whole Wheat So I set about gathering up all my ingredients; when making a good cookie only the finest ingredients will do. Quality flour, unsalted butter, sea salt, baking powder, soda, black mission figs and my two secret (okay, not anymore) ingredients… fresh ground black pepper and cardamom.

Just a quick note about Cardamom…I have been buying cardamom forever in their pods and working like crazy to get the seeds out. To say it was tedious and a pain in the you-know-what will not even begin to describe the torture. Then one day while looking at an India Tree spice catalog I saw those little seeds could be purchased outside of their pods. Incredible, I did not know this. Now I get those little babies delivered right to my door, pop open the bottle of India Tree Cardamom and I am good to go! I love the freshness and Cardamom is once again my best friend.

Commercial over, back to the cookies…I have never used a GF baking mix before, so I was excited to try it. Bob’s Red Mill premise is that Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour can be used as a substitute for whole wheat, no need to add or subtract a thing, So that’s what I did and the results were better than I even expected. 

Making a homemade fig newton takes time no matter what kind you make. The results are definitely worth the effort, but I don’t want to mislead you. Start early when making these delicious cookies because the dough has to be chilled; there is no way around it. Also when patting out the dough prior to chilling and rolling the dough after chilling it is sticky. Patience is required. When you’re in the midst of playing with the dough, try to remember how tender and soft these cookies will be. Take it by faith and it will help. Trust me, would I steer you wrong?

Double the Fun: Homemade Fig Newtons; 2 recipes Gluten Free and Whole Wheat Here is what I discovered during this bake-off. 

  1. Both types of cookie dough tasted amazing. I didn’t mind the stickiness so much when I could lick my fingers!
  2. The gluten free dough was easier to work with when patting it out prior to the deep chill.
  3. The whole wheat dough was more pliable than the gluten free dough after the deep chill. The Gluten free tended to crack easier making more work because I had to go slower.
  4. The whole wheat fig newton had a smoother surface after baking than the Gluten free version did.

Double the Fun: Homemade Fig Newtons; 2 recipes Gluten Free and Whole Wheat I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted the Whole Wheat and the Gluten Free side by side. Both cookies were delicious but the Gluten Free version was my definite favorite. I don’t envision we will have a problem eating either of these family favorites though. A big thanks to Bob’s Red Mill and India Tree for helping me out with the exceptional ingredients to make these great cookies!

Click here for the Whole Wheat Fig Newton Recipe. 

Click here for the Gluten Free Fig Newton Recipe.

Be sure to head over to Bob’s Red Mill today for their $1.00 off coupon and stock up while your at it on some very fine products.  Here’s a link if you want to take advantage of a little savings. Coupon Offer

 Another great resource for making Designer Cookies this Holiday Season.

Craftsy Decorating Class - Affiliate Link

I Love these designer cookies from Craftsy my affiliate link. Sign up free to Craftsy for great ideas, cooking classes and everything crafty. This resource is wonderful! 

Sign up here and enter a Craftsy give-a-way for a baking set too! Click here.

 Be sure to check out my cookie month partners and their amazing recipes and tips for you this week.

 

The following companies generously sponsored various cookie month projects. I may not have used all of them in my recipes, but this project is in no small part thanks to them and their incredible contributions: Bob’s Red Mill, The Daily Meal, India Tree, KerryGold, King Arthur Flour, Product of GIR, KaTom, SunButter & Wilton.

Homemade Fig Newtons shared with:

Lambert’s Lately: Create it Thursday *Sweet Haute *Kneaded Creations: Tuesdays with a Twist *Living Well and spending Less: Thrifty Thursday *Recipes for our Daily Bread: Let’s Get Real *Kitchen Dreaming: The Weekend Social *Happy and Blessed Home: Family Fun Fridays *Lil Suburban Homestead: Farm Blog Hop *Natasha in Oz: Say G’day *Snippets of Inspiration: Weekend Wind-Down *3 Little Greenwoods:Show me Saturday *New Mama Diaries: Creative Style Link-up *2 Crochet Hooks: Snickerdoodle Sunday *My Creative Days: Happiness is Homemade *Houseologie: Link it or Lump it *Create with Joy: Inspire Me Monday *The Squishable Baby: Monday for Mom’s *The Lady Prefers to Save: Merry Monday  *The Blissful Bee: Work It Wednesday

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received product for free specifically for the Cookie Month 14 Campaign. I was not required to write a positive review. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Comments

  1. says

    I saw this link on Joanne’s What’s on the List and had to come over. We don’t have commercial fig newtons in Australia and my little American heart would love one. For old times’ sake, right? Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  2. says

    Fig newtons are one of my favorite cookies, but I never thought to try to make it on my own. It still looks a little intimidating, but I may give this a try. Thanks for sharing on Merry Monday.

    Reply

  15. says

    These look chewy, sweet and delicious, Shari! Fig Newtons are a favorite of my husband. I think it is the fig jam center that he loves. Its the soft cakey outside that I love! These are definitely a labor of love, but the “freshness difference” makes it more that worth the time investment! Its great to have a stock of gluten free recipes that work!
    Wendy recently posted…Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pillow CookiesMy Profile

    Reply

  18. says

    Fig Newtons have been one of my favourite cookies … I didn’t think I would ever eat one again after going GF!
    Thanks for the great cookie recipe … I will be trying this week!

    Reply

    • says

      I am glad we connected! I am not gluten free but I have many friends who are. The Gluten Free version using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to 1- Baking flour was an easy conversion and I liked them better than my regular fig newtons. I hope you enjoy them!
      Blessings,
      Shari

      Reply

  19. says

    Shari, these look amazing, delish, moist, tender and I WANT one NOW! I’m seriously craving a batch of these babies. Your photography is beautiful and brought out the brilliant purple of the filling – good job! Carrie, A Mother’s Shadow

    Reply

    • says

      Thank you Carrie. Photography is always an adventure for me. 100’s of pictures for one good shot. I am always flying by the seat of my pants. :) Just the way I like it!

      Reply

  23. says

    I’m not a huge fan of the packaged newtons but these, well, these I would eat. I love that you don’t have to be a math whiz to figure out the correct amount of flour. I don’t cook GF often but sometimes I’m left scratching my head
    christine recently posted…The Wednesday Roundup Week 46My Profile

    Reply

    • says

      I do appreciate the ease of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 baking flour. I didn’t have to think about it all. Just measure and go. It was simple and the results were great. I will definitely be using it again.

      Reply

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge