Figgy Cookies!!!

Oh bring us some figgy pudding
Oh bring us some figgy pudding
Oh bring us some figgy pudding
Oh bring them right here

Oh bother (sorry, that's Pooh, not Dickens)

I have  no idea what that line in the classic carol talks about because I've never researched or baked a "figgy pudding".  I honestly don't care.  I know I should care because a baked pudding is enchanting, and I do have some cooked figs in the fridge tonight.  But I do care about figgy cookies.  Because they are really and truly awesome.  So for tonight it's figgy cookies -- for Christmas weekend, who knows!  With Google, many things are possible...

And we DO have a recipe for figgy cookies tonight.  It's not anything-free, but if you're like us, you'll adjust and adapt so that you can enjoy this and every recipe, no matter what your dietary restrictions may  be.

This is a sacred (more than 50 years in my family) recipe.  Use it or not as you wish, but it must not be lost, so I'm sharing.

So......My Nonny's Fig Cookie Recipe

1 cup dried figs (chopped)
1/2 cup water
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup margarine (that's what the recipe says, we use butter)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup flaked coconut

Cook water & fig.  Cream margaring, sugar.  Add egg & vanilla.  Add cooked figs, flour, baking pwder & salt.  Roll in balls and in coconut.  Press down center with half pecans. 

Now a few notes of reality.  I cooked my figs this year in the crockpot, covered with water while I was serving at my obligatory day job.  When I got home, I shut it off and cooled the figs, then drained them and added them to the recipe.

Another thing, even if I could find margarine, I wouldn't use it.  It's unhealthy.  OKOKOK, I already know.  White flour, brown sugar, none of it is healthy.  But I only ever use butter.  That's just me.  I STRONGLY suspect my mother wrote margarine because she was a child of the depression.  At some point, margarine cost 10% of what butter cost.  Yeah, well, do whatever you need to do.  If you use "spread" you're throwing your money away and you'll waste your time and ingredients and your recipients will think you're a really lousy cook.  These cookies are awesome with butter.  I can also remember them being awesome with margarine, but I don't really think you can find "mazola, corn goodness" margarine any more, so don't even bother.

Another note, that was a "depression era" amount of coconut.  You'll need a lot more.  Trust me, it's worth it.

Hugs to you all tonight, I really hope that you appreciate this insight into the culinary history of us humble folk here at The Haney Place.  Thank you all for your continued support, despite our recently sporadic publication.  We truly do appreciate it.  We are so encouraged by the fact that folks do find our posts helpful and informative.