Fig Cookies

This is one of my all-time favorite cookie recipes. The cookies are a wonderful mixture of the moist, salty dough and the chewy, sweet fig filling. I feel good packing these cookies in Andrew’s lunch, since I know that they contain only wholesome ingredients.

Here’s what you need:

For the Dough:

• ¼ cup nonhydrogenated margarine (Earth Balance)
• ¼ cup nonhydrogenated shortening (Earth Balance)
• ½ cup Sucanat
• 2 Tablespoons arrowroot
• ¼ cup unsweetened rice milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½  teaspoon salt

For the Filling:

• 4 cups dried mission figs, chopped (or (2) 10 oz bags)
• ½ apple juice
• 1/8 cup Sucanat
• Lemon zest, from ½ of a lemon

Directions:

1. Prepare the dough: In a bowl cream the margarine, shortening and Sucanat. Add the arrowroot and mix well. Beat in the rice milk and vanilla.  Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Divide the dough into two portions, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
2. Prepare the filling: Combine all the filling ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often. Let cool before assembling the cookies for baking.
3. Prepare the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease a baking sheet. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion of the dough into a rectangle roughly 9×15 inches (doesn’t have to be perfect). Divide the dough lengthwise into three equal strips. Place the three strips on baking sheet a few inches apart and divide the filling equally among the dough strips, creating a line of filling along the center with ½ inch of space on either side of the filling.
   

   Ready to bake

4. Roll out the second batch of dough to the same dimensions and cut into three strips. Place this dough over the filling-topped one and seal the edges by lightly pressing with your fingertips. Cut into ½ inch lengths, but don’t separate them. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then cut each cookie again to separate and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Did you try this recipe? Share how you liked it below…

One Response to “Fig Cookies”

1. Nancy says:

   February 12, 2010 at 9:41 pm

   Are those helpers for hire? They look very useful!

   Reply