Homemade Fig Newtons!!

Last week during our cleanse, my son kept asking for Fig Newtons for our feast - it was funny because I don't think he has ever tasted them, but he did see some friends of his eating them and was curious as to what they were....

Well, this weekend, true to form, I stepped back and thought - I can make them, and they will taste even better then anything that comes from a shop. So, I did, and they were better then any fig newton I have ever had....

In fact they were so delicious - we ate them all before I even had a chance to snap a quick photo. But, all was not lost - I simply made another (and bigger) batch. LOL Right now I am sitting here, smelling the aroma of cooling fig newtons.

And boy do they smell nice - perhaps the nicest of any cookie I've ever had the pleasure of baking. The combination of figs, orange and cardamom - is nearly intoxicating. And just as flavorful, tasty or mouth wateringly delicious as you can imagine anything to be.

This is my own recipe here - I am still tweaking it a little - however - it makes an awesome Fig Newton, so give it a try for yourself at home.... you won't be sorry and perhaps you might be pleasantly surprised!

2 1/3 cups spelt flour

2 tablespoons honey

12 to 16 large figs

boiling water

8 - 9 tablespoons goat's butter

1 egg

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup goat's milk

1.5 tablespoons orange zest

2 tablespoons orange juice 

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

pinch salt

In a small bowl place the figs with stems removed - then pour boiling water over top - enough to cover them. I then let them sit while I prepared the rest of the ingredients. Break the egg in a bowl big enough to mix in the milk and maple syrup.

In a small saucepan place the butter - allow it to gently melt or if already at room temperature add this to the egg, milk and maple syrup mixture - stir well to blend. 

Using a deep mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, cardamom and salt together. Once the figs have soaked for about 10 to 15 minutes, transfer to a food processor (or cook on stove top) to blend with 1 tablespoon of the soaking water, 1 tablespoon orange zest, plus 1 or 2 tablespoons honey.

Once the figs are well blended, set them aside. Then add the liquid butter mixture to the flour in the deep mixing bowl and stir until a soft dough forms. Add a little orange juice and the rest of the orange zest here. If the dough is too soft you may chill it for an hour or so - but I never had that problem so far. 

Turn out the dough (I did this in 2 smaller balls of dough) onto floured parchment paper and flatten into a rectangle shape. Spread some of the fig mixture down the middle of the dough or along one side, so that you can either roll it into filled cookies or layer 2 pieces. 

If there is too much fig mixture this is lovely on bread or toast....

Once the dough is filled and ready - cut into individual cookies and place onto a baking sheet. Put into a preheated oven at 180C for about 18 to 20 minutes or until gently browned. 

These are absolutely a treat!

April

Fig Newtons....Yumm!!

Fig, Date & Walnut Loaf

I have loads of figs here and have been looking for ways to use them up - dates are no problem because we love them in date squares. I haven't tried making fig squares...perhaps that is next. However, I do like figs in breads and loaves as well as when making coconut balls.

With this in mind I decided to try my hand at making a loaf with figs and dates that would not be too heavy - I wanted it to be light, soft and while not overly sweet, just a nice tasting loaf. Sort of a dessert bread but also a bit of a treat.

What I also like about figs and dates is that they are so good for you full of necessary minerals and vitamins. I remember a time when this was my only indulgence during the week...and I looked forward to it like a little slice of heaven.

Well, they are still a slice of heaven - and divine when added to any recipe. Yesterday I made a little loaf of Fig, Date and Walnut bread for my taste tester to try out - and it got a thumbs up. So, now I can't wait to try it myself next week. 

Only a few more days to go with this detox and it's back to eating for me for a few days, then back to detox again. It is detox season and I like to give this all I've got - that's the only way to get the best results.

To make the bread I started out as usual with my 3 cups of flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt - but then because I was using figs and dates I decided to use cloves and nutmeg in place of cinnamon. Just for a little stronger flavour as well as the warming effects. 

Next I added chopped figs and dates to 1 cup of milk as well as some grated lemon, lemon juice and 1/4 cup of date syrup. In another bowl I whisked a duck egg which I then added to the soaking figs and dates. 

Once I was happy that the figs and dates were soaked, I poured this milk mixture into the flour blend and stirred until it was nearly mixed - when I added 1/3 cup of water and 2 tablespoons oil. I continued mixing until all was blended and then spooned the dough into loaf tins. 

Lastly I pressed chopped walnuts into the top of each loaf (to get them to stick) and put them into the hot oven. After baking for 30 minutes (mini loaves) it was done and smelled wonderful - next time I think I will omit the egg and add a little butter instead of the oil. Just to see if I can get the loaf even softer. But, it did turn out very nice as it is. 

April

Fig, Date & Walnut Loaf 

Wild Rice, Sweet Potato & Fig Dish

I am in the final week of my Master Cleanse and I am itching to cook something - anything!! It really must be a passion for me - because I just want to play around with tastes, textures and flavours to see what I come up with.

Today I decided to make a little meal for my daughter using just the things I had on hand - a large sweet potato, some wild rice mix (she was asking for rice) and figs. This combination of foods is rich and hearty as well as complementary to each other.

I started out baking the sweet potato in the oven while I cooked a small portion of wild rice in a saucepan. Then I chopped a shallot and some cloves of garlic. These I stir-fried in a little olive oil. Once the rice was cooking away I added some turmeric - mostly because I just love the smell and I think it always adds a nice touch to food.

Wild rice mix is really nice to make and not something I make all that often - I usually reserve this rice for special occasions. Of course the recipe I was working on today is a special side dish I want to serve with either turkey or duck over the holidays. 

Once the sweet potato was tender - I took it out of the oven and let it cool for a little while before peeling it and cutting into different sized pieces. I did the same with the figs - loosely chopped them to smaller bite sized bits.

Next, the rice was ready. I wanted to let things cool slightly so as not to be mushy when combined - so the rice was set aside while the shallot and garlic sautéd. 

Once everything was sitting cooling and ready - using a large enough deep bowl I gently added each ingredient - then a little salt and pepper as I folded this mixture over a few times to lightly mix it and to allow the flavours to combine.

It looks and smells lovely - and is great on the side with some fish or fowl or even on it's own with a feta cheese topping. 

April

Wild Rice, sweet potato and figs