A Bag of Dried Figs

May 22, 2015 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

My cousin Lynette loves dried figs.

She’s visiting from Malaysia at the moment, so I bought a bag each of Turkish and Greek figs for her on our last visit to Harkola. She chose the Turkish ones (she doesn’t have enough baggage allowance to take both home), which left me with a kilo of these gorgeous sweet morsels to play with…

I added a few to an olive and anchovy tapenade…

…made a fig, walnut and macadamia bar (this time I toasted the nuts lightly in a dry pan before adding them in)…

…then I blitzed the rest…

…and made these figgy rolls…

I first posted this recipe in 2010 and I don’t think I’ve made them since. I’d forgotten how delicious they were! Here’s the recipe for this year’s batch, with reworked instructions for making the dough in the food processor.

Filling (make this the day before):

450g dried Greek figs
225g raisins
165g light brown sugar
85ml lemon or lime juice (this time I used lime)
85ml water
45ml brandy
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Pulse all the dried fruit together in a large food processor until the mixture gathers together and forms a ball of fruit mince.

2. Turn this into a heavy based pan and add the remaining ingredients. Stir constantly over a medium heat until the mixture bubbles, the liquid evaporates and the filling cooks down to a paste-like consistency. Scrape the filling into a bowl and allow to cool, then cover with cling film and chill in the fridge overnight.

Dough:

225g plain flour
225g bread or bakers flour
½ teaspoon baking powder, sifted
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
55g light brown sugar
150g white sugar
3 large (59g) eggs, at room temperature

1. Take the eggs out of the fridge and leave them on the bench before you start. Also take the filling out of the fridge as well. Preheat the oven to 190C with fan and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt.

3. In the large bowl of a food processor, pulse together the butter and sugars until soft and combined. Add the eggs one at a time and pulse until smooth.

4. Add all the flour mix and pulse until just combined – do not overwork of the dough will toughen up. Scrape out onto a lightly floured bench.

Assembly:

1. Gather the dough into a ball and divide it into three parts. Between two sheets of parchment, roll out a third of the dough into a rectangle approximately 30cm x 13cm. Carefully lift off the top sheet of parchment.

2. The aim is to form a filled tube, so spread a third of the filling over the centre of the dough, spreading it out carefully to within 2cm of the edge. Don’t push down too hard, or you’ll force the filling through the soft dough (I used my hands).

Using the parchment paper, fold the top of the dough over the filling, then fold the bottom over to seal the dough into a long tube. Seal the ends of the tube and carefully turn the log onto the lined tray, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Make sure you leave some room between the logs, as they’ll expand a bit during baking.

3. Bake until light golden brown – approximately 15 – 20 mins, depending on your oven. Allow the rolls to cool on the tray for 15 minutes, then on a wire rack for a further couple of hours . Once the rolls are completely cold, they’re much easier to slice without cracking.

4. Using a long, thin knife, slice the cooled rolls into 2cm pieces.

. . . . .

We delivered a batch of these to Pete’s baby cousin Jono – he ate them with yoghurt for dessert. I’ve been dunking mine in hot tea!

Posted in Recipes | 33 Comments

33 Responses

on May 22, 2015 at 1:09 am Julie is Hostess At Heart

I love figs too and this bread looks amazing!
on May 22, 2015 at 1:30 am MamaD1xx4xy

Oh yum, a new way to use dried figs!
on May 22, 2015 at 1:32 am Manuela

I love fig newtons! I will definitely try these once I get some dried figs. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
on May 22, 2015 at 1:44 am Elaine @ foodbod

Wow! Homemade fig rolls? Very cool x
on May 22, 2015 at 1:45 am Glenda

Celia, I just checked out your bar post. I love your idea of weighing them down. I found it hard to make them compact like the commercial ones. I think I will try your trick next time.
on May 22, 2015 at 2:03 am Chica Andaluza

We love figs of any sort and I think, come the autumn, I’ll have to make the fig, macadamia and walnt bar as it’s really simialr to a huge favourite of Big Man’s called Pan de Higo. It translates as Fig Bread but it’s not bread at all – much more like your recipe! Love your real fig bread too :) Dried figs are gorgeous soaked in sweet wine and eaten with mature cheese and walnuts. An autumn feast!
- on May 22, 2015 at 2:07 am Chica Andaluza
  
  Aha – I’ve just looked properly at the fig bar recipe and I see that you too do enjoy it with cheese! Great minds and all that … ;)
on May 22, 2015 at 4:01 am Betty

Love figs……..looking forward to trying your recipes.
on May 22, 2015 at 5:48 am narf77

I am seriously in love with figs of all statures, especially in their dried format. I am going to veganise your recipe for figgy rolls Ms Celia, they look like they would be the perfect foil for full on studies and a BIG mug of tea. Cheers for sharing your recipe with us :)
on May 22, 2015 at 6:03 am EllaDee

Yum. We always have a bag of dried figs -usually Turkish- on the go. I toss them into salads, in casseroles, chopped into sweet fig & nut biscuits (which I like with blue cheese) or figs with cheese, olives etc for nibblies.
The fig, walnut and macadamia bar looks amazing :)
on May 22, 2015 at 7:21 am Francesca

Lovely figgy treats- I might try the fig, walnut and macadamia bar, looks like my cup of tea.
on May 22, 2015 at 8:15 am Jan

Oh, I do like figs. In a tapenade sounds lovely too but I’ve been trying to stop my hand going into the fig jar because I’ve had a sudden escalation in osteoarthritis in my hands and I’m wondering if perhaps sugar might be the culprit. I am forlorn!
on May 22, 2015 at 8:23 am theclevercarrot

Love figs. All of them. I used to eat them all the time as a kid- still do. Your tapenade would be lovely with some sourdough! Enjoy your visit with Lynette! xoxo
on May 22, 2015 at 8:25 am Marisa

Those fig cookies look yummy!
on May 22, 2015 at 9:47 am Emma

Perfect timing. Just found the ‘semi dried’ figs I made about four years ago (they’re pickled in sweet spiced vinegar first) have finally tipped over to more dried (I don’t like crunchy seeds) so looking for a way to use them up. These look wonderful
on May 22, 2015 at 6:05 pm Anne Wheaton

I adore fresh figs but never really taken to dried ones, thought that’s probably because I’ve only tried bog standard supermarket ones. Now wondering whether to seek out some good ones because I rather fancy making those figgy rolls.
on May 22, 2015 at 6:48 pm Lina

I love love love Figs!! We had a friend who used to travel to Lebanon & would bring back blocks of dried figs!! They were the best! We’d ‘carve’ them onto our hot breads with feta cheese, walnuts mmm mmm.. I need to make those bars of yours Celia! X
on May 22, 2015 at 7:50 pm Sandy

I’m a dried fig lover too! I love to put them in oats and soak overnight in orange juice :-) So delicious
on May 23, 2015 at 12:24 am Karen

Love figs and I like what you did with your bag full.
on May 23, 2015 at 12:54 am dianeskitchentable

Leave it to you Celia to be able to come up with every possible way to use the figs. We don’t seem to get them here as much as I think you do, but occasionally we’ll see them in the stores.
I think the thing that we think of most when you mention figs is this packages cookie that’s been around forever call Fig Newtons. Do you have those there? I’m sure your figgy rolls are about a million times better!
on May 23, 2015 at 3:04 pm hotlyspiced

I bet your cousin was upset to have to leave the figs behind but I’m sure she would be thrilled to see how well you have used them. I would love to try the bar – it looks fabulous and figs and macadamias are wonderful together xx
on May 23, 2015 at 3:45 pm Rose

I know someone not more than five metres from here who would kill for those figgy rolls! Dried figs are on my Farmer’s Market list, the recipe is printing as we speak. Thank you Celia. Enjoy your weekend.
on May 24, 2015 at 6:53 am dedy oktavianus pardede

lovin fig all the way!!!
damn delicious…
on May 24, 2015 at 8:57 am Gerlinde @sunnycovechef

Your recipe reminds me of a dried fig bread I use to buy in Germany it looks delicious.
on May 24, 2015 at 10:16 am tiffinbitesized

I’ve got to say, I find the idea of the figs in the tapenade surprising and appealing. I suppose it makes sense from a salty/sweet perspective. I’m a fan of figs too and they have to be dried because I can’t afford to mortgage my house for fresh!
on May 24, 2015 at 2:29 pm heidiannie

Love the fig, walnut and and macadamia bar! And the tapenade sounds really intriguing- you are such an inspiration. As soon as I heal up from a recent surgery- I’m making some of these creations! Thanks for sharing so freely, Celia!
on May 24, 2015 at 9:01 pm Maureen | Orgasmic Chef

I love your figgy rolls and aren’t you wonderful to get that for your cousin and how cool she couldn’t take the good bits. :) I envy you for never wasting a thing and I want to do that this year. I’m getting better!
on May 24, 2015 at 9:05 pm Sally

I’ve never made homemade fig rolls – used to love the packet ones as a child.
- on June 6, 2015 at 11:49 pm Jaqi
  
  Me too Sally! We called them little pillow biscuits :-)
on May 26, 2015 at 5:06 pm Elizabeth

Oh I love all things fig, but my favourite are those little wild ones, they are like yummy lollies, without the guilt… do you think some of these recipes would work with dates as well? Liz xx
on May 28, 2015 at 1:22 pm cityhippyfarmgirl

They look good Celia…I haven’t had any figs for yonks!
on June 6, 2015 at 11:48 pm Jaqi

ooh delish! The Figgy rolls remind me of the bickies we used to call “little pillow biscuits”. I bet these are even better! Must try them!
on June 12, 2015 at 9:12 am Beck @ Goldenpudding

Yum, love dried figs in every way, shape or form…though I’m also imagining these rolls with prunes, what do you think?