Try this Italian Fig Cookies recipe
- 3 cups white sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 8 cups all-purpose flour
- 6 eggs
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups shortening
- 7 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 pounds dried figs
- 1 pound raisins
- 1 whole orange with peel
- 1 small apple
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
- 1 cup water (optional)
- Carbohydrate 47.4410193348114 g
- Cholesterol 3.52390164692185 mg
- Fat 7.22466463637675 g
- Fiber 4.06040552696481 g
- Protein 3.89195492276665 g
- Saturated Fat 2.21723872006073 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (99g)
- Sodium 244.192568727951 mg
- Sugar 43.3806138078465 g
- Trans Fat 0.471144629982718 g
- Calories 259 calories
Step-by-step
- 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.
The Scale of the Project
The ingredient list details eight cups of flour and four pounds of dried figs, yielding sixty units. Such volume demands heavy-duty kitchen gear. A standard five-quart stand mixer will stall under this amount of dense dough. Divide the flour, sugar, and shortening measurements in half if your bowl capacity is limited. Hand-kneading remains necessary regardless of batch size because milk adjustments must be gauged manually for a smooth consistency.
Dried Versus Fresh Fruit
Using dried figs and raisins provides a stable, low-moisture base that will not make the pastry soggy during baking. Fresh figs contain significantly more water and higher natural sugars that caramelize too rapidly at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Substituting fresh fruit requires prolonged cooking of the paste to evaporate excess liquid before assembly. Stick to dried varieties unless you intend to adjust the oven temperature downward by twenty-five degrees to prevent burning.
Worksurface Management
Rolling sticky fruit paste encased in pastry requires precise flour management on the counter. Keep a bench scraper nearby to lift the rolled logs cleanly from wooden surfaces without tearing the dough. Cut diagonal vents into the exterior pastry before baking at 375 degrees F for ten to fifteen minutes to allow steam to escape. Store the finished batch in an airtight container once completely cooled to maintain the texture.
