{"id":171,"date":"2010-12-09T16:16:57","date_gmt":"2010-12-09T16:16:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ladyharleyrecipes.com\/?p=171"},"modified":"2010-12-09T16:16:57","modified_gmt":"2010-12-09T16:16:57","slug":"fig-half-moons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/donaldroyerdesign.com\/francais\/fig-half-moons\/","title":{"rendered":"Fig Half Moons"},"content":{"rendered":"

FIG HALF MOONS
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

Fig is a popular filling for pastries and cookies <\/strong>at Christmastime, especially in the Italian Tradition. Here, an orange-scented fig paste is tucked into rich pastry dough that is formed into half-moon shapes. A little more work than the average cookie, these treats are well worth it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

METHOD:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

COOKIE CUTTER NEEDED: <\/strong><\/span>3 inch round ( or use rim of glass)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

FOR THE FIG FILLING: <\/strong><\/span>Combine the figs, orange juice, brandy, sugar and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce heat to moderate, cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by about half and the figs are softened. remove from the heat and cool ( uncovered).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PROCESS<\/strong><\/span> the figs and the liquid in a food processor until the mixture is a thick paste. This can be made up to 1 week ahead and refrigerated.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

FOR THE PASTRY DOUGH : <\/strong><\/span>Place the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Pulse once to combine. Add the butter and cream cheese and process just until the dough starts to clump together. Pinch the dough: It should feel moist and stick together. If not, pulse a few more times. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and gather it into a ball. Divide it half, press each half into a disk, and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours<\/strong> or overnight.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PREHEAT <\/strong><\/span>the oven to 350\u00b0 F<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

WORKING <\/strong><\/span>with one disk at a time, roll out the dough on a floured surface to a 1\/8\u00a0 to\u00a0 3\/16\u00a0 inch<\/strong><\/span> thickness. The thinner the better but not so thin that it tears. Using the cutter, stamp out circles close together. Re-roll scraps.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

USING <\/strong><\/span>a thin metal spatula, transfer the circles to a sheet of wax paper. Place a rounded teaspoonful of fig paste on one half of each dough circle at least 1\/4 inch<\/strong> away from the edge. Using a pastry brush, dab a tiny bit of egg wash along the edge of the dough in a semi-circle around the filling. Fold the half the circle without the fig filling over the filling to enclose, forming a half-moon shape. gently press the edges together to seal.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PLACE <\/strong><\/span>the half-moons on the prepared cookie sheet, arranging them about\u00a0 1 1\/2 inches<\/strong><\/span> apart. Crimp the sealed edges with the tines of a fork. You can assemble and refrigerate the half-moons up to 1 day ahead : or freeze them on a cookie sheet<\/span>, then wrap them up in a sturdy plastic bag. Freeze up to 2 months<\/strong><\/span>. Thaw at room temperature for about 1 hour<\/strong><\/span> before continuing the recipe.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

LIGHTLY <\/strong><\/span>brush the tops of the half-moons with the egg wash and sprinkle liberally with coarse sugar.\u00a0 Bake for 20 – 23 minutes or until\u00a0 or until nicely golden. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheet from front to back halfway through baking.\u00a0 Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

STORE: <\/strong><\/span>I<\/span>n an airtight container for up to 5 days<\/strong>, but these are best within 2 days<\/strong> of baking. To freshen and re-crisp, heat on a baking sheet in a 375\u00b0 F.<\/strong><\/span> oven for 3 or 4<\/strong> minutes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

FIG FILLING<\/p>\n

2 cups ( about 12 ounces ) halved dried Calimyrna (golden) figs, hard tips dicarded<\/p>\n

1 teaspoon grated orange zest<\/p>\n

1\/2 cup orange juice<\/p>\n

1\/4 cup brandy or water<\/p>\n

1 1\/2 tablespoon sugar<\/p>\n

1\/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon<\/p>\n

PASTRY DOUGH<\/p>\n

2 cups all purpose flour<\/p>\n

1 1\/2 tablespoon sugar<\/p>\n

1\/2 teaspoon salt<\/p>\n

16 tablespoons (2 sticks ) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1\/2 inch slices<\/p>\n

8 ounces cream cheese cut into chunks<\/p>\n

EGG WASH<\/p>\n

1 large egg whisked with 1 teaspoon cold water<\/p>\n

Coarse white sugar, for sprinkling on cookies
\n20 – 30 minutes
\n56<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FIG HALF MOONS Fig is a popular filling for pastries and cookies at Christmastime, especially in the Italian Tradition. Here, an orange-scented fig paste is tucked into rich pastry dough that is formed into half-moon shapes. A little more work than the average cookie, these treats are well worth it. METHOD: COOKIE CUTTER NEEDED: 3 inch round ( or use rim of glass) FOR THE FIG FILLING: Combine the figs, orange juice, brandy, sugar and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce heat to moderate, cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by about half and the figs are softened. remove from the heat and cool ( uncovered). PROCESS the figs and the liquid in a food processor until the mixture is a thick paste. This can be made up to 1 week ahead and refrigerated. FOR THE PASTRY DOUGH : Place the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Pulse once to combine. Add the butter and cream cheese and process just until the dough starts to clump together. Pinch the dough: It should feel moist and stick together. If not, pulse a few more times. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and gather it into a ball. Divide it half, press each half into a disk, and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. PREHEAT the oven to 350\u00b0 F.\u00a0 Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. WORKING with one disk at a time, roll out the dough on a floured surface to a 1\/8\u00a0 to\u00a0 3\/16\u00a0 inch thickness. The thinner the better but not so thin that it tears. Using the cutter, stamp out circles close together. Re-roll scraps. USING a thin metal spatula, transfer the circles to a sheet of wax paper. Place a rounded teaspoonful of fig paste on one half of each dough circle at least 1\/4 inch away from the edge. Using a pastry brush, dab a tiny bit of egg wash along the edge of the dough in a semi-circle around the filling. Fold the half the circle without the fig filling over the filling to enclose, forming a half-moon shape. gently press the edges together to seal. PLACE the half-moons on the prepared cookie sheet, arranging them about\u00a0 1 1\/2 inches apart. Crimp the sealed edges with the tines of a fork. You can assemble and refrigerate the half-moons up to 1 day ahead : or freeze them on a cookie sheet, then wrap them up in a sturdy plastic bag. Freeze up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature for about 1 hour before continuing the recipe. LIGHTLY brush the tops of the half-moons with the egg wash and sprinkle liberally with coarse sugar.\u00a0 Bake for 20 – 23 minutes or until\u00a0 or until nicely golden. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheet from front to back halfway through baking.\u00a0 Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool. STORE: In an airtight container for up to 5 days, but these are best within 2 days of baking. To freshen and re-crisp, heat on a baking sheet in a 375\u00b0 F. oven for 3 or 4 minutes. FIG FILLING 2 cups ( about 12 ounces ) halved dried Calimyrna (golden) figs, hard tips dicarded 1 teaspoon grated orange zest 1\/2 cup orange juice 1\/4 cup brandy or water 1 1\/2 tablespoon sugar 1\/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon PASTRY DOUGH 2 cups all purpose flour 1 1\/2 tablespoon sugar 1\/2 teaspoon salt 16 tablespoons (2 sticks ) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1\/2 inch slices 8 ounces cream cheese cut into chunks EGG WASH 1 large egg whisked with 1 teaspoon cold water Coarse white sugar, for sprinkling on cookies 20 – 30 minutes 56<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,43],"tags":[49,71,44,93,94,73],"class_list":["post-171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cookies","category-desserts","tag-baking","tag-cookies","tag-desserts","tag-fig-cookies","tag-figs","tag-holiday-cookies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/donaldroyerdesign.com\/francais\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/donaldroyerdesign.com\/francais\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/donaldroyerdesign.com\/francais\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donaldroyerdesign.com\/francais\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donaldroyerdesign.com\/francais\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/donaldroyerdesign.com\/francais\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donaldroyerdesign.com\/francais\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/donaldroyerdesign.com\/francais\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donaldroyerdesign.com\/francais\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donaldroyerdesign.com\/francais\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}