Fig Newtons

I saw some cookies that Laurie at:  http://iloveacloudyday.blogspot.com/ made for Christmas and I bookmarked them.  I finally got around to making them and this will be one of my new favorite recipes.

 Laurie makes hers with dates and I will do so in the future but I was out of dates so I used figs.  They ended up being the best Fig Newtons ever.

 I started by removing the stem from the figs and quartering them.

 Then I chopped them in the food processor.

 Here is the recipe for the fig filling:

• 1 container of figs, 268 grams
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• grated zest of one orange

 Here is the recipe for the dough:

2 cups butter or 2 cups margarine, softened
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup milk
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups rolled oats
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Put this in the fridge for about an hour before rolling it out.

Cook the fig filling until it starts to bubble and thicken and set it aside to cool completely.

Roll the dough out thin and cut into 2-1/2 inch circles.  Bake them at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

I found my filling to be rather chunky so I pulsed it in the food processor until it reached a good spreading consistency.

Spread some on one of the cookie rounds.

Then top with another pressing firmly.

This makes a lot of cookies.  I think I got about 80 out of this batch. Store them in a covered container in a cool place.