Italian Fig Cookies
"Seriously BETTER than Fig Newtons"
Don't let fresh figs scare you!
Italian fig cookies are awesome!
AND, this fig cookie recipe is an easy to make drop cookie!
Figs can be intimidating if you don't know how to use them. My only exposure to figs were the gross store packaged fig newtons my mom put in my lunch. I hated them! I secretly wished my mom would have been a junk food queen who believed in oreos and ding dongs.
Not any more! Now I know why my mom would hyper ventilate with joy when my great grandma would give her figs for Christmas. Figs are a delicacy!
These Italian fig cookies aren't a hard sell to kids. There's no pasty brown poop look! Quite the opposite. Figs are red on the inside and if you mix them into the dough more than I did, you will have a slightly red tinted cookie!
Italian Fig Cookies
Recipe
Yield: Two Dozen (If you drop with a TBS)
Ingredients
* 1 cup (250 ml) white sugar
* 1/2 cup (125 ml) butter
* 1 egg
* 2 cups (500 ml) all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
* 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt
* 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground cloves
* 1 cup (250 ml) chopped fresh figs
* 1/2 cup (125 ml) chopped walnuts
Procedure
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Cream sugar and butter and add beaten egg.
Sift dry ingredients and blend with creamed mixture.
Fold in figs and nuts.
Drop cookie by tablespoonfuls on greased sheet.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Substitutions and Questions
What nuts can I substitute for the walnuts?
I'm a purist in keeping Italian desserts "Italian".
Normally I'd say swap out almonds - but that wouldn't work with the texture of this cookie. Hazelnuts and pistachio would be over bearing. So, I'm sure what you are thinking is, "Can I use pecans?"
You can, but here goes my Italian purist mind, "Pecans won't make this cookie a true Italian fig cookie."
Do I HAVE to use butter?
Personally I HATE any fake fat products like margarine and shortening.
I rarely USE them! If you use a chemicalized garbage product like shortening - your cookies will be more cake like but lack flavor! Other than that, this fig cookie will turn out ok.
Can I skip the cloves?
Why? Do you hate them? Or not have them? The cloves and walnut combination give this fig cookie a distinct Italian flavor. It's worth the trip to the store.
If you hate cloves - than substitute whatever makes you happy.
Can I use dried figs?
Yikes! I'm sure you can, but I can't guarantee the outcome with this recipe. This Italian fig cookie relies on some of the moisture from the fresh figs. Dried figs won't have that. Experiment...and then let me know.
Fresh Fruit Recipes
Don't let fresh fruit cooking scare you. Do you have other fresh fruit you need to 'use up'? Try one of these:
 I love sugar and I eat dessert EVERYDAY!
Ok, not MASSIVE amounts. But I do have to finish off the evening meal with a
little sweet something.
When I was a kid my health conscience mother would ration my Halloween candy. Her mantra was,
"white sugar will kill you". But my Italian grandma always told me,
"Everybody needs a little bit of sugar." :-)
So, to get my October Halloween sugar fix I will make the traditional Italian cookie recipe, Venetian Bones of the Dead.
Italians make these for the Day of the Dead on November 2nd.
So - hey, our holiday in America - Halloween is the closest.
So - while the neighborhood is slamming down a bunch of gross mass produced candy on October 31st, I'll have
a real goodie. Oh yeah, I'll have to post it too! (Eventually!) You know how it is. Work. Kids. Clean. Cook.
I'll see if Bones Of The Dead is in my grandma's first recipe file
she started when she married in 1932. Most of the recipes on my site came from her influence. If they aren't
in her file - then I got them from her friends. And the remainder I experimented with adapting her style.
I hope she looks down and smiles this Halloween.
Lisa
Would you like to share this page? You know how to do it! Thanks for sharing the sugar love!
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