Grandma's Italian Fig Cookies

Grandma made these fig cookies every Christmas. Mom remembers how much work went into these cookies, particularly grinding the figs. Luckily, Trader Joe's sells an excellent fig butter that eliminates the work of grinding figs with a hand grinder. Or, of course, you could just use a food processor, which is what I used to grind up the nuts. Nevertheless, there is a bit of work because the dough gets rolled out and cut up before the fig filling is added and then the final cookie is shaped. But eliminating having to grind figs is a major improvement. The dough is somewhat delicate, so I found it best to place the dough on the cookie sheet before adding the filling and shaping the cookie.

These fig cookies are also known as Cucidati and are very popular at Christmastime. While they can be found at Italian bakeries, nothing beats these homemade cookies. Grandma always made these cookies in a bow-tie-type shape. Other shapes could be used, but I stuck with the bow tie here. These cookies are not quite as sweet as other Christmas cookies, so adults might enjoy these cookies more than kids would.

Italian Fig Cookies

Filling

• 2 pounds figs (or two jars of fig butter)
• 1/2 pound raisins
• 1/4 pound almonds
• 1/4 pound walnuts
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup orange marmalade
• Black coffee to moisten

Grind the figs and raisins (or use my shortcut method of opening a jar of fig butter). Toast and grind the nuts. Mix together the figs, raisins, nuts, cinnamon, honey and marmalade. Add black coffee as needed to moisten.

Cookie Dough

• 3 cups flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 pound butter

In a separate bowl, blend the flour, baking powder, eggs, sugar, milk and butter.

Preheat oven to 400. To form the cookies, roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut into squares (about 2 inches by 2 inches). Add filling in a diagonal across the square. Fold the opposite corners and press together to seal the cookie.  Bake for about 15 minutes. Frost, if desired, with a basic powdered sugar glaze; or, dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Turtle Cookies

When I was young, every Christmas, Mom made these turtle cookies. I remember being put to work arranging the pecans to resemble the head and legs of a turtle before the cookie would be pushed onto the nuts. The cookies are intended to look like turtle candies. But they are definitely cookies.

While I can sometimes be picky about nuts in cookies and cakes, I always enjoy eating these Turtles. When I made this batch, I made a few cookies without nuts for my niece and nephew with nut allergies. The non-nut version were delicious, too. This recipe calls for maple flavoring, which I did not have on hand, so I substituted in some maple syrup and slightly reduced the sugar. I think the maple flavor in these cookies make them unique.

Turtle Cookies 

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 1/8 tsp. maple flavoring
• Pecan halves
• 2 squares of baking chocolate
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 to 2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, blend together the butter and brown sugar. Add in one egg and one egg yolk (reserve the egg white). Blend in vanilla and maple seasoning.

On a greased baking sheet, arrange five split pecan halves, rounded side up, to resemble the head and legs of a turtle. Mold the dough into balls using rounded teaspoons of dough. Dip the bottom of the dough ball into the egg white and press into the arranged nuts. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the chocolate, milk and butter in a small sauce pan. Heat over low until chocolate melts and is blended smooth. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar until frosting reaches proper consistency. Beat until smooth and glossy. Frost each cookie. Enjoy!

Candy Cane Cookies

I remember helping Mom make these cookies when I was a kid. Because there is some extra work involved in the assembly of these cookies, it is helpful to make them when there are kids around to help. Once the dough is mixed, kids can be put to work rolling then twisting the dough into the candy cane shapes. The process of making the cookies is just like making snakes out of play-dough. Next time I make these cookies, I might have to invite all the nieces and nephews over to do the serious work of shaping these cookies.

When I brought these cookies to Mom's on a Saturday night, Jenny mentioned that she made these cookies with almond extract, rather than mint extract. Of course, that would be a delicious modification. Whatever flavoring that you use, it should be a subtle, not overwhelming flavor. These cookies add a festive look to any Christmas cookie plate.

Candy Cane Cookies 

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. peppermint extract
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Red food coloring

Blend together sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, peppermint extract and egg in a large bowl. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Divide dough in half. Stir red food coloring into one half of the dough. Cover the dough and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 375. For each candy cane, shape one teaspoon of dough from each half into a three to four inch rope by rolling the dough back and forth on a floured surface. Twist together one red rope and one white rope. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet in the shape of a candy cane. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!