Cook The Book: St. Joseph'S Fig Cookies

• 3 tablespoons sherry
• 2 teaspoons fresh orange juice
• 1 cup dried figs, stems removed
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup shelled walnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 dash ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold butter, diced
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Colored sprinkles

1. Bring the sherry and the orange juice just to a boil in a small saucepan. Meanwhile, put the figs, raisins, walnuts, honey, cinnamon, and lemon zest into the work bowl of a food processor and pulse until the nuts are very finely chopped.
2. Pour the sherry mixture through the feed tube of the food processor and continue processing the fig mixture to a finely chopped paste.
3. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip, or, instead of using a pastry bag, put the filling into a bowl, cover, and set aside.
4. Sift together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles cornmeal. Stir in the eggs and milk, mixing until the dough is well combined.
5. Divide the dough in half. Roll each piece through the smooth cylinders of a pasta machine, decreasing the setting, one notch at a time, until each sheet is about 1/8 inch thick and about 4 inches wide. Cut each sheet in half lengthwise so that you have 4 long, narrow strips of dough. Or, instead of a pasta machine, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into 2 long strips 1/8 inch thick and about 4 inches wide. Cut the strips in half lengthwise.
6. Use the pastry bag or a spoon to pipe or spoon a quarter of the filling down the middle of each strip of dough. Using a pastry brush, moisten the dough with water on either side of the filling. Roll the dough over the filling, completely enclosing the filling, then gently press on the seam to seal the dough.
7. Preheat the oven to 350u0b0. Place the pastry logs seam side down and slice them on the bias into cookies about an inch long. Place the cookies at least 1/2 inch apart on nonstick cookie sheets and bake until pale golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Set the cookies on a rack to let cool.
8. Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a wide bowl.
9. Dip the top of each cookie into the icing, then scatter sprinkles over the tops.

sherry, orange juice, dried figs, raisins, shelled walnuts, honey, ground cinnamon, freshly grated lemon zest, flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, cold butter, egg, milk, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, colored sprinkles

Taken from www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/03/st-josephs-fig-cookies-homemade-fig-newtons-recipe.html (may not work)