Fig Half

Name: Fig Half
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Ingredients: 2 cups dried Calimyrna (golden) figs (halved, hard tips discarded, about 12 ounces); 1 teaspoon grated orange zest; ½ cup orange juice; ¼ cup brandy (or water); 1½ tablespoons sugar; ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1½ tablespoons sugar; ½ teaspoon salt; 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter (chilled, cut into 1/2-inch slices); 8 ounces cream cheese (cut into chunks); 1 large egg (whisked with 1 teaspoon cold water for egg wash); Coarse white sugar (for sprinkling)

Traditional Italian-style half-moon puff pastry filled with sweet orange-infused fig jam, with fork-pressed edges.

1h 10m

Easy

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Ingredients

dried Calimyrna (golden) figs (halved, hard tips discarded, about 12 ounces) 2 cups

grated orange zest 1 teaspoon

orange juice ½ cup

brandy (or water) ¼ cup

sugar 1½ tablespoons

ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon

all-purpose flour 2 cups

sugar 1½ tablespoons

salt ½ teaspoon

unsalted butter (chilled, cut into 1/2-inch slices) 16 tablespoons (2 sticks)

cream cheese (cut into chunks) 8 ounces

large egg (whisked with 1 teaspoon cold water for egg wash) 1

Coarse white sugar (for sprinkling)

Instructions

Make fig filling

Combine the figs, orange zest, orange juice, brandy, sugar, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to moderate, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half and figs are softened. Remove from heat and cool uncovered.

Process filling

Process the figs and liquid in a food processor until the mixture is a thick paste. Can be made up to 1 week ahead and refrigerated.

Make 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. Turn out onto plastic wrap, gather into a ball, divide in half, press into disks, and wrap separately. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Roll and shape

Working with one disk at a time, roll out dough to 1/8- to 3/16-inch thickness. Stamp out circles. Transfer circles to wax paper. Place a rounded teaspoonful of fig paste on one half of each circle. Dab egg wash along the edge in a semicircle. Fold over to enclose, forming a half-moon, and press edges to seal.

Bake

Place half-moons on the prepared sheet about 1½ inches apart. Crimp edges with a fork. Lightly brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes or until nicely golden, rotating sheet halfway through. Transfer to a rack to cool.