Best 6 Italian Fig Cookies Recipes

ITALIAN FIG COOKIES I

Steps:

• 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.

ITALIAN FIG COOKIES

Steps:

• 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.

ITALIAN ORANGE-FIG COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place almond paste, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in a food processor; pulse until fine crumbs form. Add preserves and 1 egg white at a time, pulsing after each addition to combine. Transfer almond mixture to a large bowl; fold in figs and orange peel (dough will be sticky)., Place remaining sugars in separate shallow bowls. Drop tablespoonfuls of dough into sugar. Gently coat and shape into 1-1/4-in. balls. Repeat in confectioners' sugar. Place 1 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 24-28 minutes or until tops are cracked and bottoms are golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

ITALIAN FIG COOKIES II

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, 1/3 cup sugar and baking powder. Cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles small peas. Stir in the milk and egg until the dough comes together. Divide dough into two pieces, wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours or until easy to handle.
• In a food processor or blender, grind the figs, raisins and almonds until they are coarsely chopped. In a medium bowl, stir together the 1/4 cup of sugar, hot water, cinnamon and pepper. Stir in the fruit mixture, cover and set aside until the dough is ready.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece of the dough out to a 12 inch square. Cut each piece into 12 3x4 inch rectangles. Using a heaping tablespoon of filling for each rectangle, spread filling along one of the short sides of the rectangle. Roll up from that side. Place rolls, seam side down, on an ungreased cookie sheet. Curve each roll slightly. Snip outer edge of the curve three times.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Glaze with your favorite confectioners' glaze.

ITALIAN FIG COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. To a food processor, add flour, baking powder, powdered sugar, and salt. Pulse until well combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides to be sure everything is worked in.
• 2. Add the butter in.
• 3. Mix until the butter resembles a small crumble in the dry ingredients.
• 4. In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, water, and vanilla.
• 5. Add to the food processor and mix until just mostly combined.
• 6. Lightly flour your counter and turn the dough out. Work the dough together by hand until everything is combined. This is where you may need to sprinkle a little extra flour as you go. Form the dough into a ball and allow to rest for a few minutes.
• 7. While the dough is resting you can go ahead and make the filling. Into a clean food processor, add the almonds and figs.
• 8. Pulse until roughly chopped.
• 9. Add in the apricot preserves and orange juice and mix until finely chopped.
• 10. It will resemble a thick fig jam.
• 11. Back to the dough. Cut the ball of dough into 6-8 pieces.
• 12. Roll each piece into a smaller ball then lightly press down one small ball at a time on a floured surface.
• 13. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a strip about 1- 1 1/2 inches wide and a 1/4 inch thick.
• 14. Line the center with a bit of the filling. Fold each side of the dough overtop the filling and gently press the dough together to seal it.
• 15. Gently roll into a smooth log.
• 16. Cut into bite-size cookies. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• 17. Repeat with all the dough. Place the cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet. They don't grow so you can put them pretty close together.
• 18. Bake for 14 mins or until just lightly golden. Cool completely.
• 19. To make the glaze mix together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl.
• 20. Once the cookies are cooled, go ahead and put them all onto a large cookie sheet so the cookies are touching. Working in small sections because the glaze dries quickly, drizzle the glaze over each cookie.
• 21. Sprinkle with those fun nonpareils. Pop into a fridge for 10 minutes to harden completely.

ITALIAN FIG COOKIES (CUCIDATI)

Steps:

• FILLING DIRECTIONS: Using the grinding attachment for a Kitchen Aid mixer, grind the figs, raisins, dates, orange rind, and hazlenuts. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Set aside. (may use clean hands to insure the ingredients are mixed well. PASTRY INSTRUCTIONS: Work the crisco into the flour and baking pd. till very fine. Warm 1 1/2 cups milk ...add 1 3/4 c + 2 TB sugar. Melt sugar in milk. Keep stirring. Add vanilla. Add slightly beaten eggs to milk mixture. Then mix into the flour mixture. WORKING IN BATCHES: Turn dough onto floured board and roll out 1/4 inch thick. Cut dough into 4-5 inch strips. Spread a medium amount of filling down the center of the strip. Fold each edge over to cover the filling. Press edges together to seal filling in and turn seam side down. Slice on a slant about 2-3 inches each. Cut each end so cookies resemble an "x" or cut into other forms (many resemble the letter M). Put a few milticolored sprinkles between cuts making sure they adhere to the fig filling. Place on greased baking sheets 1 inch apart and bake till lightly browned (15-20 min.)Cool on wire racks. Optional Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar and lemon juice; mix into a smooth glaze. Glaze cookies. Because these cookies are time consuming, I have, at times, frozen any unused filling. It lasts for up to one year in the freezer. Then all you have to do is make the dough and you are ready to "roll". ENJOY