St Josephs Day Fig Cookies Recipes

ST. JOSEPH'S FIG COOKIES

Steps:

• Filling: In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the sherry and orange juice just to the boil. Meanwhile, combine the figs, raisins, walnuts, honey, cinnamon and lemon zest in a food processor, and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped. Add the hot liquid through the feed tube and pulse into a paste. Transfer to a pastry bag with a medium round tip, or to a bowl, cover and set aside.
• Dough: Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry cutter, or two knives, cut in the butter until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir in the egg and milk, stirring until well combined.
• Divide the dough into two pieces. Roll each piece out into a strip about 4" wide and 1/8" thick (or pass dough through a pasta roller until the same size is achieved); each strip should be 6-8" long. Cut each strip in half lengthwise, to yield 4 2" strips.
• Assembly: Preheat oven to 350°F Spoon or pipe the filling down the center of each strip. Moisten each strip of dough, on either side of the filling, with water, then roll over to enclose filling. Gently press the seam to seal, then roll seam-side-down. Cut logs on an angle into 1" pieces. Place cookies on non-stick cookie sheets (or line regular sheets with Silpat) at least 1/2" apart. Bake 15-20 minutes, until pale golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Icing: Whisk together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Dip tops of cooled cookies in icing, then top with sprinkles.

ST. JOSEPH'S FIG COOKIES

Steps:

• Bring the honey, grappa, and orange juice to a boil in a saucepan. Add the figs, and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the figs are plumped, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool thoroughly while you make the dough.
• Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor. Beat together the eggs and milk in a small bowl. Pour the egg-milk mixture into the dry ingredients with the processor running, and pulse until the dough forms a ball, about 15 to 20 seconds. Knead the dough on the counter once or twice, then wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator at least 1 hour or until firm.
• When the fig filling is cool, scrape it into a food processor and sprinkle in the lemon zest and cinnamon, processing all to make a smooth paste. Then add the walnuts, and pulse a few more times, leaving the nuts slightly chunky. Transfer the filling to a bowl, and freeze until firm, about 1/2 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Divide the dough in half, and roll one half, between sheets of parchment paper, into a rectangle about 16 by 7 inches. Cut the rectangle in half to make two long strips. With the palms of your hands, roll a quarter of the filling into a log and set it down on the center of one strip. With a pastry brush, lightly wet one long edge of the strip, then, using the parchment paper underneath, begin to roll the dough until you have covered the filling and the two ends of the dough meet. Press gently and seal the log. Roll the seam underneath, and flatten the top slightly with the palm of your hand. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling; you will now have four long logs with filling in the center.
• Cut the logs into 1-inch lengths using a wet knife, and place in the same position on parchment-lined baking sheets. Place in oven and bake until golden, about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.
• To glaze cookies: Sift the confectioners' sugar into a bowl, and whisk in the milk to make a smooth glaze. Dip a cookie into the glaze; it should stick to the cookie in a thin layer. If not, adjust the consistency of the glaze with more milk if too dense or confectioners' sugar if too loose.
• Let the glazed cookies dry on wire racks.