These healthy gluten-free Fig Newtons are a wonderful adult and kid-friendly cookie recipe. They do not require any baking, are refined sugar-free (i.e. naturally sweetened), vegan, and dairy-free, too!
Now that I am a little more grown up I find myself craving foods from childhood that I never liked very much. Part of that probably stems from the fact that I am a bit hard-headed and do not take “No” for an answer. Can you relate?!
When you tell my taste buds, “No, you can’t crave that cookie because they don’t make it gluten-free,” something within me throws a hissy fit and I find myself craving it even more.
So what is the secret to making a healthy gluten-free fig newton really taste like a fig newton?! There’s a special ingredient I found that does wonders for re-creating the classic taste.
What is that secret ingredient?!… Orange juice!
Orange juice is used in both the cookie crust as well as the fig filling in this recipe. Feel free to use fresh orange juice or previously squeezed orange juice that is not from concentrate and pulp free.
What is the shelf-life of these healthy gluten-free Fig Newtons?
At least a month in the refrigerator!
Who will you be making these fig newtons for? Maybe your kiddo for an afternoon school snack? Or maybe even for your family member who needs a little pre-workout bite. I would love to hear in the comments section below 🙂 Have a fig-tastic day!
DID YOU MAKE THESE HEALTHY GLUTEN-FREE FIG NEWTONS?
I would love to know!! Tag a picture @glutenfreewithlb and #glutenfreewithlb
or leave a comment below!!
PIN THESE HEALTHY GLUTEN-FREE FIG NEWTONS
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Ingredients
- 1 ¾ c almond flour
- 1 ½ c oat flour gluten-free
- 2 T coconut oil melted
- 1/3 c honey or maple syrup
- 1-2 T orange juice
Fig Filling:
- 1 ½ c dried figs soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
- 1 T orange juice
- 1 T honey or maple syrup
- ½ t cinnamon
- 3-4 T water
Instructions
- Before you start preparing your fig newton cookie crust, soak 1 ½ c. dried figs in water for 30 minutes. Make sure the water covers the figs by at least 1 inch.
For the Cookie Crust:
- In a large bowl, combine both flours and toss to combine. Add oil, honey or syrup, and orange juice to the bowl and mix with a hand held blender or by hand until the mixture is well incorporated and resembles the consistency in the picture below.
- On a 1 ½ ft. long piece of wax paper place your cookie crust mixture. Roll the mixture out to make a 9 x 14 inch rectangle. The cookie crust will be about ½ inch thick. Refrigerate the fig newton crust while preparing the fig filling.
For the Fig Filling:
- Drain figs and place all ingredients in a food processor or high-speed blender. Process until almost smooth, but still slightly chunky.
- (Make sure you are using a HIGH-speed blender such as a NutriBullet or Vitamix.)
- Retrieve the cookie crust from the refrigerator and cut a line down the middle of the rectangle, making two 4.5 inch x 14 inch rectangles. Place half of filling down the center of each new rectangle as pictured below.
- Roll up each rectangle, using the wax paper to help guide your crust, until the two sides meet. See picture.
- (Sometimes it is easier to completely cut through the wax paper and separate the two halves before attempting to roll them.)
- Once both rectangles are rolled into a log, refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting into 1-inch wide fig newtons.
- Keep cookies refrigerated between servings for best texture.
- Cookies can last for up to 1 month if kept refrigerated.
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Want a few more quick snack ideas that are also healthy?
No-Bake Paleo Molasses Cookies | Vegan & Gluten Free
Healthy German Chocolate Bars with Almond Butter
4-Ingredient Almond Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal Bites
Can you please tell me how much is considered a serving? I love having the nutritional information, but I’m not sure how much a “serving” is. One one-inch cookie? Two?
Hi Beth! The nutritional information is for one cookie! Thanks for asking 🙂
OMG! I just made these for a client and they are soooo good!! They totally satisfy a fig newton craving! I’m slightly allergic to almonds so I’m going to try using Tigernut Flour next time. Thank you for this AMAZING recipe!! 🙂
Hi Alison! So so happy you enjoyed this recipe! I have never worked with tigernut flour but am excited to try it out! Would love to hear how it turns out for you. Thanks so much for the rating and review!
Question- I’m new to the gluten free and vegan world- could I sub gluten free flour for the almond flour? Can’t wait to try these out! Thanks!
Hi Katelyn! I probably would not use gluten-free flour since the fig newtons do not get baked and it would have a slightly “flour” taste. A few substitutes you can try are oat flour and cassava flour. I have not personally tried these in this recipe, but those might be a good place to start!
Thanks for sharing, is the serving size 108cal for a single 1″ piece of fig newton?
Hi Jessica! Yes, this is the number of calories for a 1″-piece. The fig newtons are rather calorically (and nutritionally!) dense! Thanks for your question 🙂
Is there any usable sub for the payback Flour? I can’t have oats. Thinking maybe rice flour?
Thanks!
Hi Brittany! I have not personally experimented with changing the oat flour in this recipe, but I could see additional almond flour working well, or brown rice flour? Not totally sure about the final taste, but the texture should be similar. Please let me know what you try and what works!
I have a fig tree and sooo many fresh figs. Do you think this recipe would work with fresh figs?
Unfortunately, no. I tried it the first time with fresh figs from my mom’s tree but the filling turned out really runny. You can always try dehydrating them first before you make the Fig Newtons!
These look great! Is it possible to bake these? I’m digging the ingredients but I love a baked texture… thoughts?
Hi Brooke! I actually have not experimented with baking these fig newtons… There are no leavening ingredients in the recipe, but you might be able to get a good crisp on the outside? I would love to know if you try this out!
Woooow, these are AH-MA-ZING! Thanks for sharing this beautiful recipe! Love love love this! 😀
Thanks so much, Siobhan, for your sweet comment 🙂
Will try this! I used to love fig newtons as kid (decades ago ;-))
Wondering what other fillings besides figs would work well in this? Have you tried other fillings?
I have not tried other fillings in this particular recipe, but have made numerous recipes with dried dates! They have a very similar consistency to figs so I could see them turning out great with the same proportions/directions.
I bet apricots would be great too!
Absolutely, Carol!! Let me know if you try them out 🙂
I’ve never seen a no-bake fig newton recipe before. This is a really neat idea! Fig newtons are very popular at our house right now.
Thanks, Heidi! Yes, it took a couple of batches to master them, but they taste really similar to a real Fig Newton 🙂