Christmas Fig Cookies Recipes

FIG AND WALNUT COOKIES

Steps:

• For the pastry dough: Whisk the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl to blend. Mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub in with your fingers until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the egg mixture and mix with a fork until the dough comes together. Gather the dough into a ball. Divide the dough in 2 and flatten into disks. Wrap the dough disks in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, for the filling and cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper. Finely chop the figs and raisins in a food processor. Add the honey, orange juice, cinnamon, and lemon zest, and pulse just to blend. Scrape the fig mixture into a medium bowl. Stir in the walnuts. Transfer the fruit mixture to a pastry bag.
• Roll out 1 disk of dough on a floured work surface to 1/8 to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch diameter biscuit cutter, cut out dough rounds. Gather the dough scraps into a disk, then cover and refrigerate while assembling the cookies. Spoon the fruit mixture in the center of each dough round. Lightly moisten the edges of the dough with the egg wash. Fold the dough over the filling and press the edges to seal. Arrange the cookies evenly apart on the prepared baking sheets. Brush the tops of the cookies with egg wash. Bake until the cookies are pale golden, about 18 minutes.
• Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely. Repeat with the refrigerated dough scraps and remaining filling.

ITALIAN FIG COOKIES I

Steps:

• To Make Dough: Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs, vanilla, and salt. Blend in flour and baking powder by hand. Knead dough until smooth and workable. Add milk to reach workable consistency. (This takes a while and you will get a workout, but you'll know when it's right.)
• To Make Filling: Cut up figs, orange, and apple into small pieces. (It is easier to grind this way). Grind figs, raisins, orange, and apple. If the mixture is too dry or thick, mix in up to 1 cup of water, if desired. (I do not use the water, the juice from the apple and orange are enough). The spices and chopped nuts are added to the ground fig mixture. After the fig mixture is ground, I sprinkle them in over the mixture and mix (knead) it in by hand. STICKY! But good.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Roll out some dough. (should be kind of thin). Put fig mixture in a line. Wrap dough over mixture, sealing figs inside dough. Trim to desired length, using a diagonal cut. Make small diagonal slits in the sides of the cookies. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes. (Dough makes good cookies without the filling also). Wonderful with coffee.

SICILIAN FIG COOKIES (BUCCELLATI)

Steps:

• Dough: In a food processor, pulse together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter and pulse until the largest pieces are the size of peas. Add eggs, 1 tablespoon milk, vanilla, and orange zest; pulse until a dough forms. If dough seems dry, add remaining 1 tablespoon milk.
• Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a rectangle, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• Filling: In a food processor, pulse together figs, raisins, honey, brandy, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, orange zest, vanilla, and salt until a thick paste forms. Transfer paste to a bowl and stir in pecans. Measure a heaping 1/4 cup of filling, place on a piece of plastic wrap, and roll into a log about 10 inches long. Freeze until firm. Repeat process with remaining filling (you should have 10 logs).
• Working with one rectangle of dough at a time, place dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment. Roll out dough to a 15-by-10-inch rectangle, a scant 1/4 inch thick. Transfer parchment to a baking sheet; refrigerate 30 minutes. Repeat process with remaining dough.
• Cut each rectangle of dough crosswise into five 3-inch-wide strips. Position one strip of dough on work surface with long sides parallel to edge of work surface. Place one log of filling along the upper edge of the long side of each strip. Fold remaining dough over filling to enclose. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, seam-side down. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. Repeat process with remaining dough and filling.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut logs into 2-inch pieces. Using a paring knife, make 2 cuts on one side of each piece, being careful not to cut all the way through. Shape each piece into a crescent, with the cuts on the outside of the crescent. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake, rotating halfway through, until bottoms are brown and tops are light golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.
• Glaze: Whisk together egg whites and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a very small round tip. Pipe glaze over cookies; let stand until set. Glazed cookies can be stored in an airtight container, between sheets of parchment, at room temperature up to 2 days.

FIG COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Cream together shortening, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Sift flour, soda, and baking powder. Add to egg mixture.
• Grease a small cookie sheet with shortening. Pour 1/2 of the dough into pan and spread.
• Pour fig preserves over the dough and gently spread. Drop rest of dough over figs. Place in oven. When mixture starts to melt and gets soft, spread the top. Bake for 40 minutes. Cool and then cut into 24 bars.

FIG-FILLED COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Divide dough in half; cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours., In a saucepan, combine the first eight filling ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 4-6 minutes or until the fruit is tender and liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat; stir in pecans. Cool to room temperature., Roll out each portion of dough between two pieces of waxed paper into a 10x8-in. rectangle. Cut each into two 10x4-in. rectangles. Spread 1/2 cup filling down the center of each rectangle. Starting at a long side, fold dough over filling; fold other side over top. Pinch to seal seams and edges. Place seam side down on parchment-lined baking sheets., Bake at 375° for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut each rectangle diagonally into 1-in. strips. Remove to wire racks to cool. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over cookies.

SICILIAN FIG COOKIES

Steps:

• To make Pastry: Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter, eggs, vanilla and milk. Stir into a smooth dough. Remove dough from bowl and shape into a circle. Cut into 4 equal pieces, wrap in plastic and chill.
• To make the Filling: Use the zest and juice of the orange and place in large bowl. Mix in figs, raisins and nuts. Process in food processor until evenly chopped. Stir in honey, rum and cinnamon, and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• Remove dough from refrigerator. Roll one piece of dough at a time into an 8-inch wide strip about 1/4-inch thick. Cut lengthwise in half, forming two long strips, each about 4 inches wide. Lay strips on work surface. Brush top inch of each with cold water. About 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of the dough, place 1/4 of the filling in a 1-inch wide strip, running from end to end. Fold the moistened edge of the dough over the filling and press to seal edges. Cut each strip into 1-inch rectangles and place on cookie sheets. Repeat with remaining sections of dough.
• Bake 13 to 16 minutes, or until tops are golden. Let cool on cookie sheets for 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks.

BUCCELLATI (SICILIAN CHRISTMAS FIG COOKIES) RECIPE

Steps:

• Place the figs in a bowl and pour boiling water over them; let them sit for at least 15 minutes to soften. Drain figs and remove the stems with a sharp knife before chopping roughly. Place in a food processor and blitz until you have a paste, then transfer to a bowl. Place the walnuts and pistachios in the food processor and chop finely but still a little rough; don't go too far to turn this into a paste too. Add to the figs, along with the rest of the filling ingredients. Combine well and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours at least, but better overnight to let the flavors develop. For the pastry: Place first four ingredients in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mixture (or pulse in a food processor) until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the eggs and yolk and combine until you have a smooth dough. If it is a little too sticky, add a small amount of flour until it no longer sticks to your hands. If it's dry or crumbly, add some cold water, a little at a time until it comes together. Wrap firmly in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to rest and chill, at least 1 hour but better overnight. To assemble: Cut the chilled dough into 4 to 6 smaller portions and work one portion at a time (keeping the others wrapped in plastic and chilled). Roll first into a sausage shape, then flatten and roll out on a lightly floured surface to a long rectangle, no more than an 1/8-inch thick. Place filling along the middle of the rectangle lengthways in a long, thin log shape, no more than an inch wide. Roll the pastry around it to enclose completely, overlapping just a little bit. Trim off the extra pastry. Roll the log gently with the palms of your hands to seal the edges and tighten/lengthen the log ever so slightly. Cut 3-inch pieces of the log with a diagonal cut. (It helps if both the pastry and the filling are chilled, so if possible, work a bit at a time and keep chilled anything that you are not using). Prepare a baking sheet lined with baking paper. To make an X shape, use a very sharp knife to cut about 1 1/4-inch incision from top and bottom of the logs (leaving about 3/4 inch uncut in the middle) and separate gently to form an 'X'. To make an arch, make 1/2-inch incisions along the side of the log, then gently bend to form into an arch. Place cookies on baking sheet and bake at 350º F (180º C) for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the pastry is just beginning to turn golden. Remove from the oven and let cool. In the meantime, prepare the glaze (if using). With a fork, beat the whites until they become frothy. Add the 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar until you have a smooth paste the consistency of honey. Add more sugar if not thick enough and, if necessary, you can strain the mixture through a sieve again to make it perfectly smooth. Spoon or brush the glaze over the tops of the cookies and either leave as they are or top with a pinch of chopped pistachios or colored sprinkles. You could also simply dust with confectioner's sugar. Place the glazed cookies back on the baking tray and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes or until the glaze feels dry and set. Let cool completely before serving. Keep in an airtight container.

CHRISTMAS FIG COOKIES

Steps:

• 1 Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter, using an electric mixer or pastry blender, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 2 In a bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs to the dry ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon until the dough is evenly moistened. If the dough is too dry, blend in a little cold water a few drops at a time. 3 Gather the dough into a ball and place it on a sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten it into a disk and wrap well. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. 4 Prepare the filling: In a food processor or meat grinder, grind the figs, raisins, and nuts until coarsely chopped. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate if not using within the hour. 5 To assemble the pastries, preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease two large baking sheets. 6 Cut the dough into 6 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a log about 4 inches long. 7 With a floured rolling pin, roll one log into a 9 × 5-inch rectangle. Trim the edges. 8 Spoon a 3/4-inch strip of the filling lengthwise slightly to one side of the center of the rolled out dough. Fold one long side of the dough over to the other and press the edges together to seal. Cut the filled dough crosswise into 3 even pieces. 9 With a sharp knife, cut slits 3/4-inch long at 1/2-inch intervals through the filling and dough. Curving them slightly to open the slits and reveal the fig filling, place the pastries one inch apart on the baking sheets. 10 Brush the pastry with the egg wash. Drizzle with candy sprinkles if desired. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. 11 Bake the cookies 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. 12 Cool the cookies on wire racks. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 1 month. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.