Figgy Pudding Butter Cookies

I was still at my parent's place when I made these Figgy Pudding Butter Cookies with a Brandy Glaze. I never used dried figs before. I have eaten them like bacon wrapped figs or a mango fig salsa. But I've never used them in any dishes. I was excited to see how it would go. I started making these on Sunday night then finished them up on Monday.

Let's get started!

Beautiful Figs!

First, I sifted together the flour,  salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a bowl. My hand started to feel sore after sifting... I think I need to start working out my forearms more...

The nutmeg and cinnamon smelled amazing. 

Sifted product!

Next, I diced up the dried figs into small chunks. (Smaller than the size pictured) You want to use Turkish or Calimyrna Figs.  Did  you know? Figs were one of the first plants cultivated by humans.  I think I might try using fresh figs for another meal....So, I sliced up about 10 figs into chunks. In the recipe it calls for whole milk but I used almond milk instead. It was the only type available at my parent's place.

Then I let the figs simmer in the milk on low heat and stirred them occasionally. After 15 minutes or so, I took it off the heat and strained out the milk and put the fig pieces into a bowl. 

I mixed the softened butter and confectioners sugar together. Then I added one egg and mixed it in. Once the egg was in the batter, I added the flour mixture until it was all incorporated. Then I refrigerated the batter overnight. You can put it in the fridge for 2 hours if you have the time. I didn't was getting sleepy since it was like 8pm on Sunday night. 

I took out the dough on Monday and began to make the Brandy Glaze for the cookies. I mixed 1/2 cup of butter, 1 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar, 2 tablespoons of Brandy and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Then cooked it on medium/low heat until it became like a glaze. 

I then rolled out the dough into circles (or in my case, pumpkins.) Then baked them for 10 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees. They look like messed up pumpkins because all I could find was a pumpkin cookie cutter. 

Ta-da! Finished product. They don't look too pretty. They were a bit heavy for a cookie. I could see where it would be a nice holiday cookie with egg nog or actually more Brandy. But I really liked them! It was something new and different. 

Figgy Pudding Butter Cookie Recipe here.

Another awesome recipe from Food52. Food52 is one of my favorite websites to find new creations.

Emma