Fig and Walnut Cookies

Pastry Dough:
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

Filling and Cookies:
9 ounces dried Mission figs, stems discarded
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup honey
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 large egg, beaten to blend


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.

I love figs, but I realllly love 'em fresh best of all m-m-m-m

Italian Fig Cookies

Filling:
2 cups dried figs, hard tips discarded
1 1/2 cups dried dates, pitted
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup whole almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
3/4 cup whole walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brandy
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

For Dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
Colored sprinkles, for decorating
Directions
To make the filling, in a food processor, combine the figs, dates and raisins and process to finely chop. Place the mixture in a medium bowl, add remaining filling ingredients and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

To make the dough, in a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine. Add the butter and blend with your fingertips until most of mixture resembles coarse meal.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg, milk and vanilla together. Add to the dry mixture and stir to make a rough dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Cut the dough into 4 pieces, cover, and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets.

On a lightly floured surface, one at a time, roll out each piece of dough into a 12-inch square. Cut the dough into 4 by 3-inch rectangles. Spoon 2 tablespoons of filling down the center of each rectangle. Fold the long sides of each rectangle inward to the center to enclose the filling; pinch the edges to seal. Turn the cookies seam-sides down and press gently to flatten the seams. With a floured knife, cut the logs crosswise into 1 1/2-inch-wide slices and arrange 1/2-inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Brush with egg wash and decorate with colored sprinkles. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Transfer to wire racks to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I love figs- fresh or dried- on cheese trays. I particularly enjoy them w/ a wedge of gorgonzola- or any bleu- and a drizzle of honey- either heated or room temp. Talk about satisfyingly rich! YUM!

Try Valley Fig Growers website for a bonanza of fig recipes.