Fig and Prosciutto Sablee Cookies
'Tis the season of figs! I know this because I'm seeing a ton of them at the supermarkets and well, when all the food bloggers start posting pics of figs, then you know.
Being a "modern" society, we get spoiled by getting to have any fruit or vegetable we want at anytime of the year. BUT when it is the season for a particular fruit or vegetable, it's just 10 times better.
My recipe for these fig cookies was inspired by thumbprint cookies. Instead of filling the centers with sweet jam, I wanted to do it with sweet figs. And when you have figs (I guess it's probably dates), you have to have prosciutto too. I crisped up the prosciutto just a tad and had that serve as a barrier between the somewhat juicy figs and my cookies.
And the sweet and saltiness from the figs and prosciutto pairs really well with the almond sablee (French shortbread cookie) base because the cookie is not that sweet. I would say you absolutely need the sweetness from the figs to fully "complete" the cookie and that's a great thing - a good dependency.
Some tips:
- If making your own almond flour, toast the almonds first.
- Sablee dough needs to be chilled before you can work with it. When it has just been mixed it has the consistency of chocolate chip cookie dough, so there's no way you can work with it then.
- Sablee dough is very sticky dough especially if you're rolling it during a warm day. Flour your surface very well. Then at the end, take a brush to brush off the excess flour, which can toughen your cookie.
- Work with the dough half at a time, keeping one in the refrigerator.
- Flour your cookie cutter.
- Pick ripe figs!
Directions
1. Mix butter, cake flour, all-purpose flour and salt till everything is just incorporated.
2. Add in almond flour and confectioners sugar. Mix till combined.
3. Add in egg yolks, almond extract and vanilla extract.
4. Chill dough in refrigerator for about 2-3 hours.
5. Meanwhile, crisp 4 strips of proscuitto in a 325 degree Fahrenheit oven for 8-10 minutes. Let cool.
5. Begin cutting figs to 1/8-1/4-inch cross sections. Then cut prosciutto into small squares or rectangles. Set them aside.
6. Once dough is chilled, preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. On a well-floured surface, roll dough to 3/16-inch. Cut dough using a cookie cutter.
7. Place cookies onto a sheet pan with parchment and begin assembly. Start with a piece of prosciutto. Then add the fig.
8. Bake cookies for about 15 minutes until the edges turn golden brown.
Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!!
Ingredients
(makes 24 cookies)
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 tablespoons almond flour
- 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5-6 medium figs
- 4 slices prosciutto