Today is National Fig Newton Day!

Today is National Fig Newton Day! Here are some interesting facts about Fig Newtons, courtesy of www.About.com:



* Charles M. Roser won fame for creating the Fig Newton recipe before selling it to the Kennedy Biscuit Works (later called Nabisco).

* A Fig Newton is a soft cookie filled with fig jam. A machine invented in 1891 made the mass production of Fig Newtons possible.

* James Henry Mitchell invented a machine which worked like a funnel within a funnel; the inside funnel supplied jam, while the outside funnel pumped out the dough. The Kennedy Biscuit Works used Mitchell's invention to mass-produce the first Fig Newton Cookies in 1891.

* Originally, the Fig Newton was just called the Newton. There is an old rumor that James Henry Mitchell, the funnel machine's inventor, named the cookies after that great physicist, Sir Isaac Newton, but that was just a rumor. The cookies were named after the Massachusetts town of Newton.

Here is a recipe from www.RecipeZaar.com to make your very own Fig Newtons at home!

Fig Newtons (Homemade)
By: Spyder-man
Aug 23, 2005

Yield: 1 dozen

Ingredients:

1 lb dried fig or 2 lbs fresh figs
1 cup sugar
1 cup water (1 c. for dried figs, 1/2 c. for fresh)
1/2 cup butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon cream or milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 3/4 cups flour

Directions:

Dice figs, soak in water 1 hour.

Add sugar & cook on medium heat until of thin jam consistency.

Beat sugar, butter, egg, milk & vanilla until well blended.

Add dry ingredients.

Mix well and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Place 1/2 on well floured dough cloth; knead about 6 times.

Roll out to 1/4" thick. Line 13 x 9" glass baking dish; cover with figs.

Roll remaining dough, cover figs. Cook at 350° for 30 minutes.

Let cool and cut into squares. Depending on the size you cut you can get a couple dozen cookies.



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