FIG AND APPLE RECIPES RECIPES

Steps:

• Dice the figs and soak them in apple juice, salt, and lemon juice mixture for 1 hour.
• Cook the ingredients in a pot on medium heat until a thin, jam-like consistency is achieved. Set aside to cool, then transfer to a pastry bag.
• In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and light brown sugar until fluffy. Then, beat in the egg, milk/cream, and vanilla. You may do this on a stand mixer, food processor, or by hand.
• Add the dry ingredients and mix well until fully incorporated. Form it into a dough ball and wrap using plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for 1 hour to set.
• Take the dough out of the fridge and divide it into 6 portions.
• Form each portion into a log. In between two sheets of parchment paper, use a rolling pin and flatten to ? inch rectangles, about 10 inches long and 4 inches wide. Cut off excess dough to achieve these dimensions.
• Pipe a straight line of fig filling in the middle of the rectangular dough sheet. Using the parchment paper as leverage, lift one side of the dough to cover the filling. Gently flatten the dough, and do the same on the other side until the fig filling is fully covered. The end result should be a flattened rectangular log. Repeat until all six dough portions are used up. You might need to refrigerate the other pieces of dough while doing this.
• Cut the cookie logs into 2-inch squares and lay them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
• Bake the fig newtons in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F in the middle rack for 10 to 10 minutes or until the bottom crust is golden brown.
• Let the fig cookies rest for 5 minutes. After that, transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Store the cookies in an airtight container lined with a paper towel at the bottom and on top.

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.