Figgy Cookies

Figgy Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen. Use organic ingredients, if possible.

Ingredients
1 C packed, soft dried figs, stemmed and coarsely chopped
or
1½ C hard dried figs, soaked in pure water for 6 hours, or until soft enough to chop
1 C packed pitted dates, trimmed and coarsely chopped
¼ C mashed ripe fruit; choose from peeled cut oranges, ripe persimmons, fresh or soaked dried apricots, apple or pear sauce
? C pure water
¼ C organic powdered sugar
½ C raw coconut oil or organic butter
½ C puréed cashews; soak raw cashews for ½ hour, purée in food processor
2 tsp organic vanilla extract
1 lg organic egg yolk
1¾ C whole wheat pastry flour
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp sea salt

Directions
Purée figs, dates, fruit and water in a blender, or better yet a food processor, until almost smooth. If you need to, due to the thickness, mix in small batches, or pre-chop dates and figs into smaller pieces before puréeing.
Mix together coconut oil and cashews in a large bowl with a wooden spoon and a strong hand, or an electric mixer at moderate speed for about 3 minutes. Mix in vanilla and egg yolk until combined.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
Combine flour mixture and coconut oil mixture at low speed until just combined.
Split the dough in half and form each half into a nice rectangle. Wrap in plastic, and chill until firm, which takes about an hour. Alternatively, wrap and chill, and save for a few days until ready to use.
Place 1 piece of dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll into a 7×9-inch rectangle, approximately 1/3-inch thick. Remove top sheet of paper and spread half of fig mixture onto dough, then using a firm edged spatula, spread the mixture into an even layer, leaving a ¼-inch border around edges. Starting with a long side and using the edge of the parchment paper to grip, roll up the fig-filled dough into a jelly-roll style log.
Repeat with the 2nd half of the dough. Chill the figgy logs, rolled and covered with parchment paper, until firm. Store up to 2 days before using or wrap in freezer paper and save for up to a month.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut logs crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices, and place them approximately 2-inches apart on either parchment lined baking sheets, or stainless steel sheets smeared with a thin layer of coconut oil.
Bake 14-17 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven, allow to cool to the touch, then transfer to cooling racks. Delicious served warm, or cool with a hot cup of Chai tea!