Made with just FIVE ingredients, these homemade fig newtons don’t even require you to turn on your oven! These delicious fig newton cookies remind me so much of the store-bought version, but honestly taste even better and are better for you! These cookies take just minutes to make from start to finish, and are they naturally vegan and no bake!
When I look back at my childhood, I rarely remember store-bought desserts since my mother almost always had a homemade treat on hand. I learned my love of baking and spending time in the kitchen when I was young! I personally think homemade is always 100% more delicious, and usually better for you too without as many ingredients and preservatives and such. Not to mention you can adjust the recipe to your personal preference! (Clearly, I’m a big fan of recipe creation).
ANYWAYS. All this to say, I do remember two types of store-bought cookies that were occasionally in our pantry: Oreos and FIG NEWTONS. Surprisingly, as much as I love chocolate, my favorite store-bought cookie growing up were the fig newtons. I love soft cookies…crunchy cookies (such as Oreos) just don’t do it for me. Unless the Oreos are crumbled in my mom’s delicious Oreo ice cream layered dessert. YUM.
I honestly hadn’t eaten a fig newton in probably 12 years, but when I created this fig jam and was brainstorming ways to use it, I immediately then thought of fig newtons! I had tried Biscoff cookies for the first time (plane snacks anyone?) this past summer when I travelled to Europe, and I was really wanting to try Biscoff cookie butter too…
Recipe Testing
I seriously was SO EXCITED to test this recipe and thought that Biscoff cookie butter would be a delicious addition to these cookies. Honestly, I HIGHLY recommend not trying to substitute Biscoff cookie butter for another nut butter. The Biscoff adds so much to the cookie taste and is just simply delicious in this recipe paired with the fig jam. It also provides sweetness to the cookie dough, as well as creates the perfect no-bake soft texture. With only a handful of main ingredients for this recipe, it’s important to make sure you use only the best!
Biscoff cookie butter isn’t something I normally kept in my pantry, but when I thought of this recipe I simply could NOT get it out of my head and had to test it RIGHT NOW. I literally went to the grocery store for cookie butter at like 10:30 PM on a work week night just to test the recipe. I was too impatient to wait until the next day!
Usually I have to test a recipe at least a couple times to perfect it, but I was so happy that these turned out absolutely amazing on the first time! They were everything I was hoping they would be and even exceeded my expectations. That being said, since that first time making them I have made them again several times to test out variations and substitution ideas (and let’s be honest, just because I wanted to eat these cookies again!), which are discussed below.
Ingredients and Substitution Ideas
Oat Flour
Clearly, one of my staple ingredients to use in baking. It’s so simple to make yourself by grinding outs in a blender or food processor, or easy to buy in the grocery store nowadays. I have actually only tried oat flour in this recipe; it provides a great texture.
Protein Powder
Here is where some recipe testing came into play. Knowing that not everyone may have protein powder on hand, I also tested this recipe with an additional ½ cup (so 1 cup total) of oat flour in place of the protein powder. However, if doing this option, I recommend adding 2 tablespoons of brown sugar as my protein powder is sweetened. I’ve tested this recipe with vanilla plant-based protein powder (sweetened with stevia) as well as an unsweetened pea protein powder. Again, if using unsweetened protein powder or if omitting the protein powder and using all oat flour, I recommend adding the brown sugar!
Milk
Any type of milk will work well here; as always my go-to is unsweetened vanilla almond milk since I always have that on hand. However, the amount you will need will vary based on what type of protein powder you use. My first trial with the vanilla protein powder I only needed 2 tablespoons of milk. However, when I tried the all oat flour version and the unsweetened pea protein powder I needed up to 5-6 tablespoons to get the right cookie dough consistency. I recommend adding 2 tablespoons to start and then adding by 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough forms together. You don’t want it to be crumbly!
Biscoff cookie butter
As I’ve already mentioned, I really think the Biscoff cookie butter adds so much to the taste of these cookies! I haven’t tried it, but you COULD try to use a neutral tasting nut butter (such as almond or cashew) in place of the cookie butter. But you’d likely need to add more sugar if using an unsweetened nut butter. Again, I strongly feel it is 100% worth it to buy the cookie butter just for this recipe.
Fig Jam
Read this post for the easy recipe! You can use either fresh OR dried figs, since I have found fresh figs to sometimes be difficult to find year-round!
- For Cookie Dough:
- ½ cup homemade oat flour
- ½ cup (about 1 serving/46 grams) vanilla plant-based protein powder OR additional ½ cup oat flour + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ cup Biscoff cookie butter
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch sea salt
- 2-5 tablespoons milk
- For Filling:
- ⅓ cup homemade fig jam
- Add oat flour, protein powder (or additional oat flour and brown sugar), cookie butter, cinnamon, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk to a blender or food processor (alternatively, you can use a bowl/spoon, but I found the cookie butter easier to mix up in a blender). Since I often have my blender out from making the homemade oat flour, this is what I usually use.
- Add additional milk if dough is too dry and crumbly, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough forms together. This will vary based on what type of protein powder you use.
- Divide dough in half and spread into a 7x5 rectangle (I had a glass container that was 7x5, or you can use part/most of a 8x5 or 9x5 loaf pan).
- Spread ⅓ cup homemade fig jam over bottom layer of cookie dough.
- Press remaining half of cookie dough over fig jam layer.
- Refrigerate until firm, then cut into 9-12 small squares.
- These cookies store best in the refrigerator as they get very soft at room temperature and stay fresh best in the fridge!
Where can I buy biscoff cookie butter?
I bought it at Walmart! I’ve also seen it at other major grocery stores near me: Meijer, Kroger, etc. your local grocery store should carry it! ?