Fig Newtons?

I really wanted to try fig newtons, so I made them on Sunday. Quite a while ago, I bought a jar of fig preserves with this intention. I'm trying to use up things in the pantry instead of buying more food. So this was the time!

I had seen a recipe for fig newtons at Chickens in the Road a year ago. I checked Joy of Cooking, but it didn't have anything similar, so I went with CitR. Her recipe makes a raisin filling, which is said to be delicious, but I used the fig preserves of course. You can also use any preserves, she says. But we found the filling overly sweet, especially since the cookie is so sugary. We will try again, however, as Nutmeg and I really like them. Eric didn't care for the sweetness of the filling and won't have more.

I made a half recipe, and ended up with 5 dozen cookies, made as Suzanne did as bars. As usual, I cut mine thinner than called for. With a bit of leftover dough, we tried the original recipe of making folded over squares. While Nutmeg got a kick out of using a fork to press the edges, they were far more work than the bars. We won't do that again. I think both kinds spread about double in the oven.

Mine weren't at all crumbly and made a great snack on a hike in Black Brook Preserve yesterday. We tried both kinds--both worked well. I was afraid the filling would ooze, but it didn't. Might be more of a problem with other preserves; the fig preserves were pretty thick.

And I don't think they taste anything like fig newtons. The cookie is harder and thinner (might have been my rolling and baking), and preserves aren't as thick (they spread more than I'd imagined so I don't think I could make them thicker), and none of it tasted the same. But that's okay because we really like them anyway! Should just called them fig bars.