Directions: |
Directions:Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Add the cold butter pieces and cut in until the mixture resembles lumpy sand. Add the eggs, vanilla, and milk. Mix until the dough just starts to combine, like pie dough. Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead a few times until it comes together completely and looks smooth. Divide the dough into four equal pieces and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. |
Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1 cup pecans, rough chopped
8 dried figs, stemmed and roughly chopped
5 ounces dates, pitted and roughly chopped
4 ounces raisins
Zest from 1 small orange
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups sugar
¼ cup rum (up to ⅓ cup)
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Directions: |
Directions:Finely chop the dried figs, dates, pecans, raisins, and orange zest. You can grind these items or use a food processor. Add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice to the rum. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add the rum and sugar mixture to the fruit and mix until everything comes together. Place in an air-tight container and refrigerate for at least overnight or even longer. The longer it sits, the better it will taste.
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Form the fig filling into ropes about the size of your little finger. To make it easier, form all the filling and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Using only one dough round at a time (leave the remaining dough refrigerated) on a well-floured surface, knead the dough a few times until it becomes smooth, roll the dough out fairly thin, about ⅛-inch thick.
Trim the rough edges from the dough, place a rope on the dough edge. Lift the outer edge and start rolling it over the filling. Roll it completely over and trim it off. Place the seam side down.
Slice each strip on the diagonal into about 1-inch pieces and place them on the prepared baking sheet about 1-inch apart.
Alternatively, filled dough can be shaped into pouches, pinwheels, birds, shoes, or whatever you can imagine. Mama Bollero made the best on “The Hill.”
Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the tops a light golden and bottoms are browned. Watch them closely, all ovens are different. You may need to rotate the baking sheets for even browning.
Allow them to cool on the pan for about 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Sometimes, a simple icing made of rum and powdered sugar or lemon juice and powdered sugar is drizzled over the cookies.
Store in an airtight container. |
This recipe for Nana’s Fig Cookies (Cuccidati) is from