To make the puffs
First you mix ingredients
Then add the lovely figs and orange rind
Then form into level tablespoons and drop onto cookie baking device of choice (I usually use my baking stone, but don’t currently have it, darn!). Bake until done and enjoy!
Since I’m training for a half-marathon I thought I should step it up and cut back on the sweets. You know how I like sweets. They’re fun to make, fun to eat. And even though my sweets are probably quite healthy-looking to the general population (they are actually in fact much healthier in terms of fiber content and sugar level), they are by no means a staple food. Treats are treats, and should be eaten as a “treat,” not an every meal, or even every day occurrence, at least in my opinion.
So I have cut back to just using green leaf stevia to sweeten my oatmeal, and my treat making is about once a week or so. So here’s my latest creation: Orange Fig Puffs.
I call these “puffs” because they are not quite a cookie since they are lighter, more muffin-like, yet their shape and size suggest cookieness. They are the perfect size for kids, and I love them, because you feel good about eating more than just one.
And what can I say? I hate, loathe fig newtons, unless they are the Paul Newman brand and actually taste like figs instead of some highly adulterated mixture made of high fructose corn syrup, white flour, and figs, at least they look like maybe in some past life they were figs.
Fresh or a organic, dried figs, that’s a different story. I especially like black mission figs. Sweet with a hint of vanilla. Amazing how that vanilla taste shows up all over in nature. (I buy dried figs in bulk at my local natural foods grocery store.)
I understand that many of you reading this don’t actually have brown rice syrup or green leaf stevia, so I suppose you could use just plain old sugar like the original recipe calls for, but I’m just showing you how I did it. I refuse to use even evaporated cane juice. (Sucanant is a better choice, but still mostly empty calories, although not highly refined.) Not saying you can’t, I just don’t see the need when I have better alternatives. I make my flour in my Blend-tech blender, just whole barley, whole oatmeal, give it a whirl, and in less than a minute you’ve got yourself some fresh flour.
Also, if you want these more cookie-like, less puff-like, omit the lemon juice. But then you couldn’t call these orange fig puffs and drink with your afternoon herbal tea.
Here’s the original recipe, courtesy of my mom’s old-school Searchlight Recipe Book. The book is really old and June Cleaverish so while I was making the “puffs,” feeling quite domestic, I had a hankering to watch “I Love Lucy” and wear my most feminine apron.
Orange Fig Puffs
WF, LF, OF (wheat-free, low-fat, oil-free)
Makes about 18-24 cookies
Original:
1 c. dried figs
1/2 c. shortening
2 eggs, well beaten
3 tsp. baking powder
3 TBS. orange rind
1/2 c. coconut
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. honey
2 3/4 c. white flour
1 tsp. lemon extract
Healthier Version:
- 1 c. dried figs
- 1 medium apple OR 1/2 cup applesauce
- 2 TBS. plant milk
- 2 TBS. ground flax seed & 6 TBS. water
- 1 tsp. lemon juice (omit for more cookie-like texture)
- 1/4 c. shredded, unsweetened coconut
- 1/4 c. old fashioned oats
- 2-3 TBS. finely grated orange rind
- 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
- 1/3 c. brown rice syrup
- 1/2 c. raw honey
- 2 tsp. green leaf stevia
- 1 1/2 c. oat flour
- 1 c. barley flour
- 1/4 c. cornstarch/arrowroot powder
How to do it:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash figs, cover with cold water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Drain. Cut in pieces or chop in small food processor. Cut apple in half and place in blender with flax seed, brown rice syrup, salt, milk, lemon juice and honey. Blend until smooth. Sift flours, then measure, and sift with baking powder, stevia powder and cornstarch. Add wet mixture to dry until mixed thoroughly. Then add figs, coconut, oats, and orange rind. Drop by leveled tablespoons onto oiled or non-stick cookie sheet/baking stone. Bake for 10-11 minutes. Allow to cool on cookie rack for 5 minutes. Serve with tea, or if you must, with a glass of plant milk.
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