Crust Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), cold and cubed
1/4 cup powered sugar
pinch of salt

Directions for Crust

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare a parchment paper sling in an 8″ square pan by lining the pan with two crisscrossed rectangles of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.
3. Add sugar to butter, then flour in food processor. Pulse until dough forms.
4. Press evenly into 8″ square pan.
5. Bake 18-20 minutes, until very slightly golden.

Filling Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and lemon juice from 2 large lemons

Directions for Filling

1. Beat together eggs, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
2. Stir in zest and lemon juice
3. Pour on top of just-baked crust. You don’t have to wait for it to cool.
4. Put back in oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until set.
5. Let cool, then refrigerate. (I like them cold.)
6. Use the sling to lift out of pan and cut into squares. Sift with powdered sugar right before serving.

Things I Bought Recently.

Had a v. productive week re. the wedding. Crossed several things off my “Things To Buy/Do” list. This always makes me happy. Sometimes I add things to my lists that I’ve already done just so I can check it off. SENSE OF FULFILLMENT!

I like DIY projects, though I’m not the MOST crafty person. I have no problem paying someone ELSE to do the crafty part for me if I don’t feel that the time/effort it would take ME to do it would be put to very good use. However, I do want our wedding to have a lot of personalized details. Mostly, I don’t want the wedding to look generic and cookie-cutter-ish. I love weddings that look like a lot of thought was put into the planning. Now, whether you actually did it yourself, or you paid someone to make it look that way, I DON’T KNOW. Either way, it always looks very nice. =)

Fiance and I have this running joke about figs ever since we just happened to eat several dishes involving figs within a short period of time. Now, whenever we see figs, we say, “Figs: The Next Big Thing.“

Or, “Figs: The New Pork Belly.”
Or, “Figs: The New Slider.”
Or, “Figs: The New Coconut Water.”

So when I saw a recipe for fig cookies in my new David Leibovitz cookbook, I had to try it out.

Turns out, figs are kind of hard to find. Also, turns out I made Fig Newtons. I didn’t realize that this was the direction the recipe was going until halfway through the steps. I was expecting an actual fig cookie, with figs mixed in, as opposed to a fig-filled cookie, so that was a little disappointing. However, the recipe is spot on and it really tastes like a REAL Fig Newton. But better, of course.

The recipe is not online, and I didn’t feel like transcribing the recipe from the cookbook to the computer, as it is quite long, but I did find a variation (I didn’t use almonds/walnuts, just figs) of the recipe that is pretty similar.

Ingredients
2 cups halved dried figs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup honey
zest from half of a lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, soft
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 each whole eggs, at room temperature
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 ounces toasted almonds*
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
*or walnuts, or 1/2 cup flour and omit food processor step.

Directions for Fig Puree

1. Trim off and discard the hard stem from figs.
2. Put figs in a saucepan with sugar and lemon. Fill with water until figs are submerged. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Add more water if water boils away.
3. When figs are tender, drain and pass through a food processor. Add vanilla and stir. Let cool.

Directions for Fig Cookie

1. Cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Gradually add eggs and vanilla, beating very well until mixture is uniformly smooth and velvety.
2. If using nuts, combine with flour in workbowl of food processor, fitted with the metal blade. Run until nuts are well ground and mixture is even. Measure total contents to 2 1/2 cups.
3. Combine nut/flour mixture with salt and baking powder and add to egg mixture. Combine thoroughly.
4. Knead a few times and turn out in quarters onto plastic wrap. Form each quarter into a flat rectangle, wrap tightly, and chill at least thirty minutes. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll the first piece of dough out to about 5×9 inches. Spread one quarter of the fig filling evenly in a lengthwise strip down the center of the dough, keeping it piled up a bit in the center. Brush all exposed surfaces of the dough lightly with water.
6. Fold the dough around the filling: fold the long top edge toward you to cover at least half of the filling, then fold the bottom edge up over the rest of the filling, overlapping the top edge a little and completely encasing the filling. Place roll seam side down on a lined baking sheet. Pinch the ends together to completely enclose the filling. Repeat the process with the remaining three pieces of dough, putting two cookie rolls on a baking sheet.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the dough is coloured a deep golden brown. Remove the cookie rolls from the oven and cool for at least 15 minutes. Slice.

Elizabeth & James Across the Bar ring

1. Leave a comment
2. Include your name and email address
3. Be from US or Canada

I’ll randomly choose a winner next Monday, August 30. Good luck!