Make Friends With Figs

This past weekend I ventured to the land of hills and fog. The bay area has played quite a role in my upbringing and I always welcome a visit. I was born outside the east bay, and I still have extended family living in the area.

I have one particular memory of visiting my Aunt & Uncle in Oakland when I was about thirteen. At the time I had short spiky hair, with spots of blue. I was at my peak level of Green Day fandom, so I was quite excited to make a stop at Amoeba records in Berkeley and imagine the flourishing punk scene I was too young to participate in. On this same visit, my Uncle took us to the ice cream shop Fenton's that was near his home. When I walked in I saw they had the flavor Butter Brickle and I was ecstatic. At this same age, I was also a repeat-renter of the movie The Ice Cream Man starring Clint Howard. It was B-movie horror at its worst. A deranged ice cream man who makes decapitated head waffle cone sundaes and stores dead bodies in his freezer truck. Butter Brickle was his favorite flavor, and I think a weakness of sorts that played into the plot. Anyway, goofy thirteen year-old me devoured a tall sundae glass of Butter Brickle covered in some of the best caramel sauce I have ever had (seriously, my Mom would remember it too if I asked her).

I flew down south recently to attend a wedding within my boyfriend's family. It was for one of his favorite aunts (his Mom's little sister), and it was my first time meeting anyone on his Mom's side. The high points of the trip - staying in a classic San Francisco home looking straight at Buena Vista Park, 360 degree views of the city from the top of the De Young Museum Tower, watching a lovely wedding ceremony in Shakespeare's Garden, and more wonderful food, drink, and family than I could have ever expected.

Unfortunately there were a few low points too, including monsoon rains (I swear the whole bay had been scooped up and dumped back on the city) and some of the worst flight delays I have ever experienced. When the day was still young and I had no clue what was to come, I suggested (tricked?) my boyfriend and I brave the monsoon to visit Tartine in the Mission district. What started out as a carefree rainy trip for pastries turned into a very grouchy boyfriend and the two of us sulking underneath a convenience store awning wondering what to do with ourselves, or if our socks would ever be dry again. But what was a bad day in the past makes for a funny story to tell friends, right?

Of course what I remember most was the time at the wedding getting to know so many of my boyfriend's relatives. I was welcomed with smiles and treated to a whirlwind trip. Although, I also remember the dessert buffet and the Tartine Gougere fairly well.

I felt I couldn't go down there empty handed, so I brought a small gesture of thanks. I was inspired by a fig and almond bread in The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. Simple flavors that stand out on their own, but are not too overwhelming. I took the flavor combination and turned it into a toasty, warm, and almost shortbread style cookie. I wanted it to look rustic, but composed. I also made each cookie especially large, as each cookie was given as a gift wrapped up in tissue paper and twine all on it's own.

Figgy Cookies
3/4 c flour
1 c toasted sliced almonds
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 stick softened unsalted butter
3/4 c chopped dried figs
whole dried figs
3 Tbsp Turbindo sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Blend flour and 3/4 c. almonds in food processor until almonds have been finely chopped, but don't turn them to flour. Add the sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt. Pulse until it combines and becomes a dough. Add the chopped dried figs, but only pulse one or two times until they are mixed in. Chill dough in fridge for an hour, or in the freezer for 30 min. While the dough is chilling, crush the remaining almonds slightly and combine with turbindo sugar in a cake pan. Once the dough is chilled, roll into balls. I made four very large cookies, 6 would make for a nice sized cookie, but you could make as many as 12. Roll each ball until coated in the almond-sugar mixture. Place on a piece of parchment on a cookie sheet. Make a large dimple in the middle of the ball, or if you are making smaller cookies only make a small indent. If you are making larger sized ones (4-6 total) place a whole dried fig, stem side up in the dimple. If you are making smaller cookies, I would slice the dried figs width-wise to make circles and place those in the center of the cookie. Bake in the oven 25-30 minutes. I baked mine until they were golden brown, but they were very soft to the touch. Take out to cool, and they will firm up.