| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 26 min |
| Prep: | 45 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr 5 min |
| Cook: | 36 min |
| Yield: | 4 dozen |
Ingredients
- 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
- 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
Instructions
- 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.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 48 servings |
| Calories | 108 |
| Total Fat | 5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 9 g |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Cholesterol | 19 mg |
| Sodium | 30 mg |
Reviews
This was a hit at a party we had. Everyone loved it.
I really enjoy the fig- filled cookies from a local bakery. Wanted to make some to share with family & friends at a recent gathering. So delicious and such a hit! Thanks for this recipe.
These came out very well for me. No need for a pastry bag; I used a small spoon. I cut three slits in the top half-circle of each dough round and that kept the dough from splitting/crumbling. I zested a navel orange instead of a lemon, and then juiced it. I made three dozen cookies with the dough recipe and still had enough filling left to make 24 “tassie”-type cookies with a cream cheese dough.
Wow, these are wonderful! Have quite a bit of filling left over, so I think I will make a half recipe of dough tonight so it doesn’t go to waste. I took the advice to shape into logs then cut on the diagonal – saved a lot of time. I was worried the filling would spill out from the open ends of the cut cookies, but it didn’t. I also topped with confectioners sugar glaze and red and green non-pareils. Just as good and as pretty as cookies from the Italian bakery!
these are fabulously delicious. Try the dough with other fillings, i.e. sweet potatoes, blueberries…multipurpose goodness! Have used it often since 2003! #12daysofcookies
Perfect! I cover up the crack with drizzle and nonpareils if any occurs. Shaping them into logs (like birdseeds says) is so much easier — and looks better,too. A real treat!
Great cookies…..love the filling but I have a problem with the dough cracking when it bakes. Anyone able to help out with this. Its worth the effort since they are so good and I have enough filling to do anothe batch.
I’ve made these many times over the years and they’re always a big hit. It’s become my favorite cookie recipe. To make them faster and so much simpler to execute I make them as 4 logs which I then cut into 1inch thick cookies once cooled. They look like Fig Newtons. Just lay down a rectangle of approx 12″x4″ of dough and put a line of the filling all along the middle. Fold over and press down slightly. Use the eggwash to glue the folds and gloss the top.
I have made this cookie for several years now, and want to thank Giada for it…It is wonderful…I also make this cookie with apricots instead of figs and add some pignoli nuts, as well.
Terrific!
Terrific!
I’ve been making these cookies for at the last three Christmases. My family love them. I substituted dates for the figs. Also had to double the dough recipe to finish off the filling. Dough is very soft and found it helped to pop them in the freezer for a few minutes once they were on the cookie sheet but before I folded them over. Have added it to my family cookbook of favorite recipies. Thank you Giada!