Italian Fig Cookies

5 from 1 vote

It's not Christmas for me without these amazing Italian fig cookies made with pastry and filled with sweet, soft figs, toasted almonds, and dark chocolate, which are out-of-this-world delicious!

Note: total time doesn't include the chilling time for the shortcrust pastry dough.

Prep Time1

Cook Time35

Total Time1 35

Course: cookies, Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: fig cookies

Servings: cookies

Calories: 139kcal

Author: Katia

Ingredients

Shortcrust pastry

2 cups (9oz/250 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup + 1 Tbsp (4oz/125 grams) unsalted butter
¾ cup (3oz/80 grams) powdered sugar
1 medium-sized egg
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Fig filling

2 cups (340 grams) soft dried figs
1 cup (150 grams) Roasted almonds
(5oz/150 grams) dark chocolate bar or chips ( 70% or 85% cocoa are best)
(4oz/120 grams) candied orange peel
(4oz/120 grams) honey
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 small orange zest (approx 1 Tbsp)

Decoration (Royal icing)

1 pasteurised egg white (from a large egg), at room temperature
1 cup (approx 120-130 grams) powdered sugar (icing sugar if you're in the UK)
½ tsp lemon juice
coloured sprinkles, to decorate

Instructions

Shortcrust pastry

Follow this recipe to make the shortcrust pastry dough. Cover it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours (or up to 2 days).

Fig filling

Spread out the almonds onto a baking tray and roast them in the preheated oven at 170°C/340°F for about 8-10 minutes. Remove the almonds from the oven and set aside.
Snip off the hard stems from the soft figs and process them in a food processor until chopped. Don't turn them into a puree, as you want some texture. Transfer the fig mixture to a large mixing bowl.
Chop the chocolate and the roasted almonds with a chef's knife. Alternatively, place them in a food processor and pulse a few times until they are roughly chopped. Add them to the fig mixture.
Then add the remaining ingredients for the filling. Using your hands, mix them thoroughly until well combined. Set aside.

Shape the cookies

Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using a sharp knife, divide the shortcrust pastry dough into 4 equal pieces (cut them lengthwise to get long pieces that are easier to work with). Start using 1 of them, and keep the other 3 pieces refrigerated.
Dust the a work surface with some flour, then roll the one piece of dough out until you get a rectangle that measures approx 11x5 inches (30x14cm).
Using moistened hands, grab some fig filling from the bowl and form a long log, then place it in the center of the pastry strip. Fold each side of the pastry, seal it with gentle pressure, and finally turn the long log upside down so the seam is down.
With a sharp knife, cut the log into 10 individual cookies (4 logs should make approximately 40 pieces). Place them on the prepared baking sheet with parchment paper. Repeat the same with the rest of the ingredients. You should be able to bake 2 logs (approximately 20 cookies) at a time on the same baking sheet, for a total of 2 batches.
Bake and let the cooked cookies to cool down on a rack.

Decoration

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the powdered sugar and lemon juice, and keep beating for 3-4 minutes until you get a thick consistency. Use it immediately.
Drizzle the fig cookies with the icing or turn each cookie upside down and gently dip into the sugar. You want to cover only the top.
Decorate immediately with colored sprinkles, then let them rest on a wire rack until the icing is completely dry.

Notes

Royal icing: For food safety, use a pasteurized white egg for your icing decoration. Alternatively, use your favorite sugar glaze or make the Royal icing sugar with meringue powder.

Icing glaze: If the room is too humid and the icing doesn't dry out, turn on the oven and heat to 85F (30C). Then, let your cookies dry in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Nutrition facts: The nutrition values are for one fig cookie (without the icing decoration). They are based on an online nutrition calculator, are estimates, and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice. Please see my disclosure policies.

Nutrition