These Italian Fig Cookies are a little time consuming, but well worth the effort! It wouldnt be Christmas in our house without them.
Italian Fig Cookies
These Italian Fig Cookies are a little time consuming, but well worth the effort! It wouldnt be Christmas in our house without them.
Ingredients
- 2 cups shortening
- 3 cups white sugar
- 6 eggs
- 8 cups all-purpose flour
- 7 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 pounds dried figs
- 1 pound raisins
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 whole orange, with peel
- 1 small apple
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
- 1 cup water (optional)
Instructions
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.
- 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.
Photo: storymom
