Today I have a guest post for you from Julia Visser of Juels’ Fuel. Her blog is an inspiration! I hope you enjoy this amazing recipe for grain-free homemade fig newtons from her.

The Fig Newton had me at first bite.

As a child, this was my favorite occasional snack with a glass of milk! How can one deny the gooey, soft, chewy cookie or three? And, because they’re made with “real fruit,” parents can feel good about giving their growing children a “real” cookie filled with real fruit.

The century-old, revolutionary Fig Newton even boasts:

“When it comes to cookies, we keep it real.”

Ingredients that are not so real

Yet, there’s more to their story. Have you, per chance, checked out the ingredient label?

A quick check on FoodFacts.com reveals a big, fat “F” ranking, and displays the following ingredients:

Flour Enriched, Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron Reduced, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Corn Syrup, Fig(s), Folic Acid (Vitamin aB), Glycerine, Corn Syrup High Fructose, Sugar, Sulphur (Sulfur) Dioxide, Whey, Flavor(s) Artificial, Baking Soda, Calcium Lactate, Calcium Phosphate, Dextrose Cultured, Egg(s) Whites, Malic Acid, Barley Malted Flour, Potassium Sorbate, Salt, Soy Lecithin

I know you’re just as shocked as I was! With 25 ingredients and just 2 cookies containing 12 grams of sugar (that’s about 3 teaspoons, folks!), I see a whole lot of preservatives, genetically modified ingredients, allergens, and anything but nutritious ingredients.

This “real” cookie is anything but real.

What IS real, though, is this whole foods, grain-free version of Fig Newtons! I used a mere 8 ingredients and with a yield of about 30 cookies, the nutrition profile per cookie breaks down to:

82 kilocalories
1.7 grams of protein
7.7 grams of carbohydrates
5.4 grams of fat

Enjoy these REAL Fig Newton Bites with a glass of milk (dairy-free or not)!

Grain-Free Homemade Fig Newton Recipe

Fig Newton Dough Ingredients

• 1.5 cups almond flour (where to buy)
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ½ Tbsp vanilla
• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup raw honey (where to buy)

Fig Newton Filling Ingredients

• 8 dried figs
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor, blend the figs, lemon juice, and vanilla until a thick, smooth paste forms.
3. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients in the dough mixture thoroughly and until it becomes a wet (and sticky) ball of dough.
4. Divide the dough into four equal parts.
5. Cut three 18” x 18” sheets of baking paper.
6. On the first sheet of baking paper, add two of the dough sections spaced equally apart on the sheet.
7. Using another sheet of baking paper on top, roll out the dough sections to equal sized rectangles (about 4” x 12”) and ¼” thick.
8. Spread half of the fig filling lengthwise down the middle of one of the sections.
9. With the help of the baking sheet, carefully lift the other rolled out dough section, place on top of the other dough section with the filling, and peel the baking paper off.
10. Use your hands to pinch and seal all sides.
11. Carefully transfer the fig newton “roll” with the baking paper underneath to a baking sheet.
12. Repeat steps 6 – 11 with the other two dough sections on the other sheet of baking paper.
13. Bake both fig newton “rolls” for 10 – 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
14. Remove from the oven and cut into small squares. Enjoy!

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Meet Julia

Julia Visser is the founder of Jules’ Fuel, where the mom-to-be writes about real food, fitness, travel, and purpose. Prior to starting Jules’ Fuel, she worked in marketing and sales for a Fortune 500 global medical technology company. With her life’s passion in nutrition and fitness, she’s currently pursuing a Master’s in Holistic Nutrition. In addition to her studies, she works as a nutrition consultant to businesses, college level sports teams, and individuals, and lives overseas most of the year with her professional basketball-playing husband. Her mission is to help people realize, seek, and achieve a higher state of health and a more enriched life because of it!