so i’ve been hiking a lot this june
one of the biggest lessons has been how heavy food is when you’re carrying multiple days worth on your back
one of my favourite hiking snacks has always been fig newtons and their baked fruit bar cousins, but oh man do you need a lot of them to fuel a hike!
not to mention the sugar crashes from eating too many in a row
these ‘big newtons’ are my take on fig newtons, optimised for hiking nutrition and carrying capacity
the cakey outside is enriched with rye flour (for slower release carbs) and almond meal (for fats and longer release energy for hiking)
they won’t be winning any beauty contests but they will keep you well fed and happy on a walk
yields 12-14 big newtons
ingredients
rye almond pastry
70g butter, room temperature
25g brown sugar
1 egg yolk
50g almond meal
65g rye flour
1 tsp baking soda
spiced fig filling
130g dried figs
30g water, just boiled
0.25 tsp ground cinnamon
0.25 tsp ground ginger
pinch salt
method
rye almond pastry
beat together the butter (70g) and brown sugar (25g)
add the egg yolk (1) and beat to combine
add the almond meal (50g), rye flour (65g), and baking soda (1 tsp) and beat until just combined
the dough will be a little sticky
cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes to let it harden up and become more manageable
spiced fig filling
while the dough is chilling, add the dried figs (130g), boiling water (30g), cinnamon (0.25 tsp), ginger (0.25 tsp), and a pinch of salt to the bowl of a blender or food processor
let sit for 5-10 minutes to let the figs soften
blitz to form a thick paste
assembly
preheat the oven to 180°C
line a tray with baking paper
roll out the chilled dough to a rectangle about 5mm thick
spread the spiced fig filling over the dough, leaving a 5mm gap at the long edges
fold each of the long edges to the centreline and pinch closed the seam, enclosing the fig filling
bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown and the outside is slightly puffy
let cool at least 10 minutes to allow the filling to solidify
cut into 12-14 slices
store in an airtight container
these are even better after a night in the fridge, so the dough has a chance to soak up some of the moisture in the fig filling and become cakier
Great idea! These are now on my ‘to bake’ list