It you like Fig Newtons—or wish you liked them more—there’s a better “Newton” in town. (The history of Fig Newtons and more Newton content follows below.

It’s called Figgies & Jammies and the cookies are from Pamela’s Products, maker of delicious gluten-free cookies, bars and mixes. The flavors include:

 
Filled with real Mission figs and complementary fruits, this gluten-free version of the traditional fig cookie is so delicious, even people who don’t prefer gluten-free foods will prefer them.

The pie-like cookie portion is more tender, the fruit flavors are brighter. The size is a bit larger than Fig Newtons.

The cookies are not just gluten free, but egg free, low in sodium and all natural. There are no hydrogenated oils or trans fats, no cholesterol, no corn syrup.

The line is certified gluten-free by GFCO and certified kosher (dairy) by OU (the hechsher is hidden under the fold of the seam).

You can find a store locator on the company website, or buy them online from Pamela’s.

Below:

> The history of Fig Newtons.

> Beyond Newtons: elevated brands of fig cookies.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of cookies.

> The year’s 44 cookie holidays. (National Fig Newton Day is January 16th.)

> The 10 basic styles of cookies (Fig Newton is in the “filled cookie” category).

> The different varieties of of cookies: a photo glossary.
 
 
FIG NEWTON HISTORY: WHY A “NEWTON?”

January 16th is National Fig Newton Day, honoring a cookie so anchored in 19th-century history that it was a favorite of our great-grandfather. And our family history, too: Great-grandfather was born in the same year as the Fig Newton.

The Fig Newton was named after the town of Newton, Massachusetts. It was the custom of the original manufacturer, Kennedy Biscuit Works of Cambridgeport (now Cambridge, Massachusetts), to name cookies after towns in the Boston area.

According to Nabisco, the cookie was co-invented in 1891:

 
The machine was patented in 1892, and Mitchell approached the Kennedy Biscuit Company to try it out. They were impressed—all that was needed was a name. Newton, Massachusetts got the honor (the Boston-based company often named their cookies after local towns, and had already produced cookies named Beacon Hill, Harvard, and Shrewsbury).

Just think: We could have Fig Lexingtons or Fig Concords instead!

In 1898, Kennedy Biscuit Works and New York Biscuit Company became part of the massive National Biscuit Company (later named Nabisco), leading to nationwide distribution and iconic status, with sales growing exponentially and the brand eventually diversifying beyond fig, though the original remains a classic.

In the 1980s, Nabisco launched additional flavors of Newton. Today you can revel in Newtons! Beyond Original Fig came Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry, Cherry, Mixed Berry, Strawberry, Triple Berry, and Raspberry, plus fig bars, fig cookies, and . Here’s the current lineup.

Given additional fruit flavors, in 2012, the brand became simply Newtons, with packages labeled by flavor.
 
 

[6] Turn a cookie snack into a full-blown dessert: Fig Newtons à la mode with caramel sauce.
 
 
FIG NEWTON ALTERNATIVES

[1] Yes, they’re better than Fig Newtons (photos #1 and #2 Elvira Kalviste | © The Nibble).

[2] Four figalicious flavors.

[3] Bake your own standard-gluten cookies with this recipe (photo © Ruffles And Trends).

[4] A sophisticated snack: Brie and sliced almonds atop a Fig Newton. Here’s the recipe (photos #4, #5, and #6 © Nabisco | Mondelez International)

[5] Now, they’re one of several flavors of Newtons.

Here are some brands that make elevated takes on Fig Newton‑style cookies or fig bars:

Shortbread or butter-cookie fig sandwiches: buttery and more indulgent than Newtons.
 

[7] Cuccidata, a Sicilian fig cookie. Here’s the recipe (photo © Taste Of Home).

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Each of the three fun shapes is 3.5 inches in diameter, and stamps out the dough to make mini pies, pizza pockets, filled dumplings and more.

Just press the stamp to cut the dough, fill and press down on the lever to crimp the pocket edges together. Any dough works (think pasta dough, phyllo dough, pie dough, pizza dough), or use sandwich bread or tortillas.

The Pocket Makers create savory or sweet fun foods, from spicy chicken empanadas for a first or main course to individual apple pies for dessert. Our favorite idea: jumbo ravioli.

Each set includes three red pocket makers in flower, heart and round shapes, plus a recipe book filled with tasty ideas for every day and special occasions.

This gadget set could be just the thing to coax a young person into baking…or give new inspiration to a seasoned baker.

Pocket Makers are constructed of BPA-free plastic stamps are dishwasher safe for easy cleaning.

The Kuhn Rikon Pocket Maker Set has a suggested retail price of $16 and is available at Amazon.com and Sur La Table stores.

Discover more delightful products at KuhnRikon.com.

Today, it’s the “new” banana split in the photo: freed from its roots.

The traditional banana split is a type of ice cream sundae made in a long dish called a boat (hence the alternate term, banana boat).

The banana is cut in half lengthwise (the “split”) and placed on the bottom of the boat. The banana is topped with three scoops of ice cream—vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream—placed in a row between the split banana halves. Chocolate, pineapple, and strawberry sauces are spooned over the ice cream, in no particular pairing. The sundae is garnished with whipped cream, crushed nuts, and a maraschino cherry.

Check out how to make a banana split party bar, below.
 
 
BANANA SPLIT HISTORY

The soda fountains of yore were the equivalent of today’s Starbucks, where people met for refreshments and socializing. Soda jerks were the mixologists of their day*, inventing treats to excite customers. Malted milks, banana splits, and phosphates emerged at the soda fountains of neighborhood drugstores in the 1890s.

In those days, “jerk” was not a derogatory term; it referred to the quick, sharp pull as the attendant drew the carbonated water tap forward.

David Evans Strickler, a 23-year-old apprentice pharmacist at Tassel Pharmacy in Latrobe, Pennsylvania†, enjoyed taking on the soda jerk role and inventing sundaes at the store’s soda fountain. He invented the banana-based triple scoop ice cream sundae in 1904.

The sundae originally cost 10 cents, twice the price of other sundaes, and caught on with students of nearby Saint Vincent College. In those pre-digital days, news of the nifty new sundae quickly spread by word-of-mouth and written correspondence.

It must have done well for Strickler: He went on to buy the pharmacy, renaming it Strickler’s Pharmacy.

Then, plan a banana split party, where guests create their modern interpretations. It could become your signature annual event!

The city of Latrobe celebrated the 100th anniversary of the invention of the banana split in 2004. In the same year, the National Ice Cream Retailers Association certified Latrobe as the birthplace of the banana split. It hosts an annual Great American Banana Split Festival in late August (sorry, there’s no website), and the city has the original soda fountain where the banana split was created.

Others tried their hand at the recipe. One, published in 1907, called for a lengthwise split banana, two cones of ice cream at each end of the dish, and a mound of whipped cream in between with maraschino cherry on top. One end was covered with chopped mixed nuts and the other with chopped mixed fruits. [Source: Wikipedia]

Here’s the history of the ice cream sundae, and the long history of ice cream in general.
 
 
PARTY TIME: BANANA SPLIT BAR

How about throwing a banana split party, where guests can invent their own banana splits? Here’s what you need to put together:

 
Ingredients for the “new” banana split:

____________

*Their day was the late 1800s through the early 1900s.

†Latrobe is approximately 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. The city population was 8,338 as of the 2010 census.

[1] The new banana split: exciting (photo © SushiSamba [now closed]).

[2] Traditional banana split (photo © California Milk Advisory Board).

[3] We like how I Heart Naptime switched it up with caramel sauce and chocolate chips. Here’s the recipe (photo © I Heart Naptime).

[4] This Breakfast Banana Split uses scoops of watermelon instead of hice cream. Here’s the recipe (photo © National Watermelon Promotion Board).

[5] Banana Split Sushi. Here’s the recipe (photo © RA Sushi).

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We received this perfect July 4th ice pop recipe from Zulka, producers of sugars that are minimally processed and come straight from freshly-harvested sugar cane. There‘s more about the company below.

The vivid colors come from berries, strawberries and coconut milk. The berry purées can be made using either fresh or frozen berries. Simply de-stem, wash and pat dry the fruits; then purée in the food processor.

RECIPE: RED, WHITE & BLUE ICE POPS

Ingredients For 10 Ice Pops

Great-looking ice pops for July 4th. Photo courtesy Zulka.

Preparation

1. MAKE the simple syrup: Bring water and sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan. Stir until sugar is dissolved and let cool.

2. ADD 1 tablespoon of simple syrup to each of the purées and coconut milk. Stir well. Fill molds 1/3 of the way with the strawberry purée. Place the lid on the mold and and the wood sticks, letting them protrude about 1/2 inch above the top. Let freeze 40-50 minutes or until somewhat firm.

3. REMOVE the lid of the mold and fill compartments another third of the way with the coconut milk mixture. Replace the lid, making sure all of the sticks are in place; freeze another 40-50 minutes.

4. REMOVE the lid and fill the compartments with the blueberry purée. Replace the lid and freeze completely, at least 8 hours or overnight. When ready to serve…

5. RUN cool water over the sides of the mold and carefully loosen each pop by gently pulling on the handle or the stick. Remove all pops. If not serving immediately, wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag.

Popsicle® is a trademarked name owned by Unilever’s Good Humor Division (here’s the history of the Popsicle and the Creamsicle®).

Everything else should be called by the generic “ice pop.”
 

ABOUT ZULKA

More than 100 years ago, the Zulka family built mills among the lush sugar fields of Mexico, in a tropical area ideal for sugar cane farming. They remain a family-run company, continually investing and modernizing so that these same facilities can process more than six million tons of fresh-cut sugarcane each year.

All of the sugar cane they process comes from local small family farms, owned by hard-working people who are dedicated to producing top quality sugar cane. “We are proud of our workers, partners, and product,” says Zulka.

With most sugar coming from enormous, soul-less companies, it’s a great mission to support. Check the store locator to see where you can buy Zulka products.

You can also find them on Amazon.com in white sugar, brown sugar and individual white sugar packets.

The company will soon be introducing powdered sugar and chili sugar, with a touch of chili spice.

Find more delicious recipes on Zulka.com.

While rhubarb has fallen out of fashion since our grandmother’s generation, it is enjoying a renaissance thanks to the efforts of a new generation of professional chefs, who use it in sweet and savory preparations.

Rhubarb is a spring vegetable*. You may still be able to find it in your market, but if you can’t find fresh, frozen rhubarb works just as well in this ice cream recipe.

Our Nana was a big fan of rhubarb, which she stewed with sugar into a wonderful sweet and tart dessert. Many years ago, we chanced across a celestial dish of rhubarb ice cream at the Grand Central Oyster Bar in New York City. When we returned for more, it was off the menu. Most customers, unfamiliar with rhubarb, weren’t enticed to order it.

So when we received this recipe from Taste Of Home, we raced to the store for rhubarb and dragged out the ice cream machine.

> The recipe follows.

Also below:

> What is rhubarb?

> Why rhubarb is a vegetable.

> More rhubarb recipes.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of rhubarb.

> The different types of ice cream and other frozen desserts: a photo glossary.

> The history of ice cream.

> The year’s 50+ ice cream holidays.
 
 
RECIPE: RHUBARB ICE CREAM

Consider making a double or triple batch, since this recipe yields only 2-3/4 cups.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 375°F. In an ungreased 13×9-inch baking dish, combine rhubarb and sugar; toss to combine. Bake, covered, 30-40 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly.

2. PLACE the rhubarb mixture in a blender; cover and process until puréed. Transfer to a bowl; refrigerate, covered, until cold.

3. STIR the lemon juice into rhubarb. In a small bowl, beat the cream until stiff peaks form; fold into the rhubarb mixture. Transfer to a shallow 1-quart freezer container.

4. FREEZE 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Freeze, covered, overnight or until firm. Yield: 2-3/4 cups.
 

[1] Pretty in pink: rhubarb ice cream (photos #1 and #2 © Taste Of Home).

[2] A variation: rhubarb crumble ice cream. Here’s the recipe (photo © Taste Of Home).

[3] The tops, not shown, are large, attractive green leaves, but they’re mildly toxic (photo © Sur La Table).

Rhubarb, Rheum rhabarbarum, is a vegetable in the family Polygonaceae.

The leaf stalks (petioles) are crisp like celery with a strong, tart taste. Rhubarb looks like rosy-pink celery, but is no relation (celery is a member of the Apiaceae family).

Before it was sweetened by British cooks and turned into pies and other desserts, it was added to soups (try it in lentil soup), sauces and stews—Moroccan tagines and Middle Eastern stews, for example. In the current rhubarb renaissance, it is braised and served with meats and as a savory garnish.

Be sure to cook only the stems; the leaves, though lovely in appearance, are mildly toxic.

While rhubarb is botanically considered a vegetable, a New York court decided in 1947 that since it was used in the United States as a fruit, it counted as a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties. A side effect was a reduction on imported rhubarb tariffs, as tariffs were higher for vegetables than fruits. [Source: Wikipedia]

And that’s only one example. Science notwithstanding, on May 10, 1893, tomatoes, a red fruit/berry of the nightshade family, were declared a vegetable by the United States Supreme Court. At the time, there were import tariffs on vegetables but not fruits, yet tomatoes were still being subjected to the tax.

In 1887, an importing company had sued the tax collector of the port of New York to recover back duties collected on their tomatoes, which they claimed had been wrongfully classified as vegetables. The Court decided that the tariff act should be based “in common language of people,” not botanists, so tomatoes should be taxed like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets etc.

More proof that justice is blind.
 
 
MORE RHUBARB RECIPES FROM TASTE OF HOME

 
 
________________
 
*Rhubarb is a vegetable often thought by many to be a fruit. Although botanically a vegetable (a member of the buckwheat family), in 1947 the USDA classified it as a fruit because the tariffs on bringing fruits into the country were lower on fruits than vegetables.
 
It’s a vegetable because it’s the edible leaf stalk (petiole) of the plant, not the fruit (the seed-bearing ovary). While often used in sweet preparations like pies and jams, it’s not fruit. Under the same classification, hot chile peppers are fruits. The easiest way to tell if it’s a fruit: Does it carry its seeds inside, like an apple or a peach? Or a chile pepper? (Note: some berries are an exception to the rule: strawberry and raspberry, for example are actually a multiple fruit which consists of many tiny individual fruits (the seeds) embedded in a fleshy receptacle. They are known as aggregate accessory fruits.
 
 

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