You may find this hard to believe, but I have never had figs before. I mean, of course I had tried Fig Newtons when I was younger, and like most kids, hated them. But when I saw that my local grocery store had a big, beautiful display of them, (and despite the fact I had no idea what to do with them) I just couldn’t resist. So, I spent all last week trying to find or think of ways to use my big, beautiful figs. Finally, I just rolled out a sheet of puff pastry and went from there.
I sliced them up and scattered them all over the puff pastry along with brown sugar, cinnamon, sliced almonds and butter, rolled it up, sliced them into little pinwheels, threw them into the oven and hoped for the best. I couldn’t believe how beautifully they turned out! Just like I’d hoped!
There are still tons of fig recipes I’d like to make in the future, but I was really glad I decided to start with this one. These would be great with coctails, or for dessert – very versatile, in my opinion! Hubby really loved them, and while I’m still getting used to the taste of figs – I thought they were great too.
Fig and Brown Sugar Pinwheels
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
6-8 fresh figs, sliced length-wise (I used Brown Turkey figs, but you could also use Kadota or Mission)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup slice almonds
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled (In the picture above, I didn’t melt the butter – I just placed little pieces of butter over the top of the figs, but I think melting it would be better!)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry slightly. Brush the melted butter over the pastry, then top with brown sugar. Spread the sliced figs evenly over the whole surface, then top with cinnamon and sliced almonds. Roll the puff pastry up like a jelly roll, then slice into little pinwheels – you should get 10-12 rolls. Pinch the edges of each pinwheel to keep them from coming unrolled. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. Enjoy!
O wow I never had figs either. I normally don’t see them in the supermarket, but then again I never look for them. I will definately try this recipe. The flavor combination sounds delicious, like a cinnamon roll remix.
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Comment by Mai — August 1, 2009 @ 3:58 PM
What an AWESOME recipe! It looks fabulous and I seriously looooove figs! Winner in my book.
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Comment by Katie — August 1, 2009 @ 4:27 PM
This looks delicious! I love figs…and with puff pastry? Heaven!
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Comment by foodlibrarian — August 1, 2009 @ 4:31 PM
I love figs! This is such a great idea!!!!
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Comment by Jen @ MaplenCornbread — August 3, 2009 @ 1:59 PM
I saw figs at my local grocery store too, but when I had no idea what to do with them…I just sighed and walked past. These look yummy though! What exactly do figs taste like? Fig Newtons can’t be right…my faith in the world would be lost 😛
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Comment by cupcakesprite — August 3, 2009 @ 3:24 PM
The new layout looks great!! And I’m definitely bookmarking these pinwheels.
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Comment by Brianna — August 3, 2009 @ 5:00 PM
We have a fig tree in our backyard that produces about 10 pounds of figs a week in the summer, so I am always looking for new recipes. I can’t wait to try this. I also suggest making banana-fig bread by substituting mashed figs for half of the bananas. I dont’ really like bananas or figs but I like this combination. There area also lots of other good fig recipes on the web.
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Comment by Lynn Wagenet — August 5, 2009 @ 9:54 AM
I received some fresh figs from a neighbour’s tree and was looking for a quick and easy recipe to use them. This was perfect! I used pistachios instead of almonds and added some grated dark chocolate too. Heaven! I also wanted to say that I peeled my figs and sliced them thinly so they kind of turned into a jam-type pinwheel rather than chunks like in your photo.
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Comment by Joanna — August 11, 2011 @ 10:16 AM