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Heather's Dish

Heather's Dish

Fig Newton Pecan Balls [Paleo, Vegan, Gluten-Free]

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Fig Newton Pecan Balls || Heather's Dish

So yesterday I did this thing called, “make a mess of my entire kitchen and house” and didn’t clean it up because “it’s part of my job.”  You know, part of my job to make a mess and part of the job is not cleaning it up.  See, I have this nice, neat and newly remodeled (thanks to a bajillion emails and major help from Kacia – I OWE YOU!!!) website but the measure of a good work day is how big of a mess I can make.  And the not cleaning it up part?

 

I can only equate it to seeing a desk full of paper stacked high in the “finished” pile, or maybe even an empty email box.

 

Except I’m totally lying.  I hate a dirty kitchen with the fire of a thousand suns.  I’m considering injecting coffee intravenously so that I can just stay up all night and clean our flipping house, complete with washing stinky dogs and wiping down baseboards.

 

I KNOW.

Fig Newton Pecan Balls || Heather's Dish

I think this may be my own special form of crazy sometimes…the instant spark to clean everything in sight, the want to to WANT to do it, and then laying on the couch instead.  Waiting til the next day when surely it will make me just nuts enough to go through with the cleaning.

 

Am I the only one here?  I think I may be rambling…in which case we’ll blame it on the intravenous coffee use that hasn’t happened yet.  OY.

 

Anyway, back to reality for like 5 seconds here:  these fig and pecan balls are SO GOOD and they took all of 5 seconds to throw together.  Fun fact:  when I was in college I was taking an honors class in the agriculture department (for the life of me I can’t remember what it was for exactly…) and the one thing that I remember from that entire semester is that some guy stood up at the front and said that if all we ever ate were figs and drank milk then that would be a diet that could sustain a normal human forever.  He said that the fiber and nutrients in the figs were good enough to cover all the veggies and fruit we would really need, and that the milk would cover the fat/protein part.

 

Is it true?  I don’t know…but if it means I get to eat more of these little guys guilt-free then I’ll take it.  I didn’t mean to make them all paleo/vegan/gluten-free, it’s just what happened – and I think that all of us with all of our crazy diets can come together with love and harmony on this one.

 

Now I may or may not be off to clean my house.  Or take a nap.  Whatevs.

Fig Newton Pecan Balls || Heather's Dish

FIG NEWTON PECAN BALLS

  • 2-1/2 cups raw shelled pecan halves
  • 17 dried figs, chopped roughly (about 1 cup)
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Spread the pecan halves on a baking sheet and roast them at 350 for 10-15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until golden and fragrant.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely.  To make the “dough” pulse the pecans in a food processor to break them up.  Add the chopped figs and salt and let the food processor run for about 3 minutes to break everything down.  It should be crumbly and sticky, so that when you pinch a bit of the mixture (with the processor off of course!) it sticks together.  Roll the balls into tablespoon-sized balls and refrigerate for about 1 hour before eating!

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Comments

  1. Nola Katz says

    July 9, 2013 at 5:14 pm

    Sounds wonderful. In Texas its season, so I was wondering about fresh figs. Do you think they would work? I’m thinking you would need 2 cups fresh. Can’t wait to try!

    Reply
    • Heather says

      July 9, 2013 at 10:48 pm

      Hey Nola! I’ll be totally honest, I’m not sure how it would work with fresh. The biggest difference is that I don’t think the balls would hold together as well since the fresh figs aren’t as sticky as the dried ones. Maybe add some honey as well? I’d love to hear how it goes!

      Reply
      • Nola Katz says

        July 14, 2013 at 9:03 am

        Complete failure. I think the fresh figs have too much moisture plus aren’t quite as sweet as the dried. I put some honey, but didnt want to add too much. I’m going to keep trying, but fresh figs won’t be around much longer. Guess I’ll bite the bullet and use dried. Thanks for you input.

        Reply
        • Heather says

          July 14, 2013 at 11:13 am

          Oh man, I’m so sorry it didn’t work out! I suppose the good news is that now we know – thanks for keeping me in the loop Nola!

          Reply
  2. kelley {mountain mama cooks} says

    March 22, 2013 at 2:58 pm

    Another great recipe. I’m trying really hard to stay away from gluten and sugar (an experiment of sorts) and looking for ‘healthier’ treats and snacks. Yum! LOVE the site redo, btw!!

    Reply
    • Heather says

      March 22, 2013 at 7:42 pm

      We have a lot of family that have to eat gluten-free and they swear that they feel so much better now!

      Reply
  3. Kathy says

    March 21, 2013 at 10:52 am

    Do you store in the refrigerator? any idea if you can freeze?

    Reply
    • Heather says

      March 21, 2013 at 10:59 am

      Hey Kathy! I keep mine in the fridge, but I have no idea on freezing. I can’t imagine that would be bad, but I don’t know what the frozen texture would be like.

      Reply
  4. luv what you do says

    March 20, 2013 at 8:37 pm

    I HAVE to make these! They look fantastic! Adding figs to my grocery list NOW : )

    Reply
  5. Nancy @ CouponClippingCook says

    March 20, 2013 at 9:45 am

    What an easy recipe. Love that it’s only 3 ingredients and healthy too. They look so yummy.

    Reply
  6. Jen says

    March 20, 2013 at 2:50 am

    These look amazing! I’ve never made anything like it before and I love pecans so I can’t wait to give it a try 🙂

    Reply
  7. Becky says

    March 19, 2013 at 4:31 pm

    I usually use dates when I make little energy bites like this – good to know you can use figs too! And I bet they are delicious!!

    Reply
    • Heather says

      March 19, 2013 at 7:04 pm

      I LOOOOOOVE using dates in stuff like this! The sweetness is the same, but the texture is a little different!

      Reply
  8. Delishhh says

    March 19, 2013 at 1:20 pm

    Love the new site – very nice. This is such a great snack!

    Reply
  9. Liz @ Tip Top Shape says

    March 19, 2013 at 9:17 am

    These look delish!! And I LOVE the blog’s new design! Very bright and fresh!

    Reply
    • Heather says

      March 19, 2013 at 1:56 pm

      Thanks Liz! That’s what I was hoping for 🙂

      Reply
  10. Sara B says

    March 19, 2013 at 9:02 am

    I love fig newtons, but for a myriad of reasons, I don’t like to buy packaged cookies. I’ll have to try these. Adding figs to the grocery list now! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Heather says

      March 19, 2013 at 1:56 pm

      I totally understand the store-bought cookie thing – I feel like these taste even better than their namesake! Hope you enjoy them 🙂

      Reply
  11. Denise @ Creative Kitchen says

    March 19, 2013 at 7:43 am

    These look amazing! Right now we’re doing the Daniel Fast with our church and this fits into the guidelines of what we can eat. Perfect!! Can’t wait to try it.

    QUESTION – I’m contemplating a big bag of dried figs at costco, but am uncertain if I like dried figs. Are they sweet on their own? I liked fig newtons as a kid but I’m sure they added sugar. I like dried dates but they are a little too sweet for me. Where would these figs fall on the sweetness factor? Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Heather says

      March 19, 2013 at 8:16 am

      Hey Denise! Dried figs are SUPER sweet – I would venture to say almost exactly the same if not more so than dates. I like the added salt because it kind of curbs the sweetness. I found mine in a smaller package at my grocery store in the produce section – I would say maybe try doing that first before getting the big bag to see if you like them!

      Reply
  12. Claire @ Live and Love to Eat says

    March 19, 2013 at 5:59 am

    I love all combinations of dried fruit and nuts – I sometimes roll the finished products in oats to keep them from sticking!

    Reply
    • Heather says

      March 19, 2013 at 8:13 am

      Oh, great tip! I’d probably toast my oats in the oven first for extra flavah 😉

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. WIAW: Cherry Bomb {Recipe} says:
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  2. » Homemade Lara Bars: Coconut Cream Pie Vintage Mixer says:
    April 8, 2013 at 2:02 pm

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