Ricotta and Figs are ingredients that when you first hear that they are in the cookie, you are not quite sure if you should try it or not. I tried to find out the history of Italian Ricotta Cookies, but all I could find were recipes. I wanted to know when they first started showing up and where. Italy is a big country, but the good news is everyone wants to share what their family has passed down through the ages.
I remember being at a restaurant with family when I was young, and I got to taste a ricotta and fig appetizer, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Whoever came up with the idea of combining ricotta and figs should get an award as far as I am concerned. They had added just a drop or two of honey, which was the icing on the cake. So that was my inspiration for this week's cookie. Some recipes call for pistachios, and you can certainly swap out the chopped walnut that I put on top of my cookies.
You can use your favorite honey brand, and you will be amazed at what honey adds to this cookie.
Ricotta Fig and Honey Cookies
Barbara HallIngredients
COOKIE DOUGH
- ½ cup Butter unsalted 1 stick room temperature
- 1 cup Sugar white 198 g
- 6-7 oz full fat Ricotta cheese
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 tablespoon Baking powder
- 2 cups All purpose flour 240 g
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
FIG FILLING
- 8 oz Mission Figlets minced
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 2 tablespoon Sugar white
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Water if needed
TOPPING
- A couple drops on top of baked cookies Honey
- Chopped on top of fig filling before bake Chopped walnuts
Instructions
FIG FILLING
- Take the stems off the figs and set aside. I make this easy for the filling by using my food processor. It only takes a few seconds to mince these figs. I put the minced figs into a bowl and add the sugar, honey, and the lemon juice and mix.
COOKIE DOUGH
- In a bowl, weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, and salt together. I run a whisk through to blend.
- In a stand or hand-held mixer bowl, add butter and sugar cream for about 3 or 4 minutes on medium speed. Add the ricotta and blend through. Add the one egg and vanilla extract and mix.
- Turn the mixer down to a low speed and gradually add the flour mixture. Wrap the bowl loosely and refrigerate for about 45 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 350°. Line your cookie pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- I scoop out a generous amount with a small cookie scoop and make 12 balls onto a pan. I take my thumb and press down to make an indent, just don't go through to the bottom.
- Take your fig filling and fill each hole of your cookie and put a walnut piece on top of each fig filling and press down lightly, so it stays on the cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes and move to a cooling rack when they are finished and out of the oven.
- After they cool, I take a jar of honey and add a couple of drops of honey onto the fig filling. It helps keep the fig filling on the softer side.
- You can also use fig jam instead of the fig filling I made.
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