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Attributing human characteristics to animals and things: my bizarre collection of a thousand anthropomorphism images.
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Cuccidati (Italian Fig Cookies)
Filling:
1 cup packed soft dried figs (8 oz.), hard tips discarded
¾ cup raisins (3¾ oz.), plumped
¾ cup mild honey
¼ cup brandy
1½ tsp. finely grated fresh orange zest
1 tsp. finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
¾ cup whole almonds (4 oz.), toasted and coarsely chopped
¾ cup walnuts (3 oz.), toasted and coarsely chopped
Dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup whole milk
1½ tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. finely grated fresh orange
Icing:
1 cup confectioners sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
1½ to 2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
A few drops of natural orange oil (optional but very good)
Make the filling: Pulse the figs and raisins in a food processor until finely chopped, then stir together with the remaining filling ingredients in a bowl. Chill, covered, at least 8 hours. The filling can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered.
Make the dough: Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and blend with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until the most of the mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly a pea-size) butter lumps. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla, and zest and stir with a fork (or pulse in the food processor) until a soft dough forms (starts to form – for the food processor method; do not over process). Halve the dough and gather each half into a ball, then flatten each half into a rough 6- by 4-inch rectangle between sheets of plastic wrap. Chill until firm, at least 8 hours. The dough can be chilled, wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil, up to 3 days.
Form the cookies: Center an oven rack and preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. Set aside.
Roll out 1 rectangle of dough (keep the remaining dough chilled) into a 1/8-inch thick rectangle, about 15- by 14-inch, on a well-floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Trim the edges to form a rectangle with one side exactly 13-inches long; another side can be as long as it can be assuming you rolled it evenly thin (chill the trimmings). Then cut the 13-inch side into 4 (3 1/4-inch-wide) strips. Arrange a little bit less than 1/8 of all filling in a 1-inch-wide log lengthwise down the center of each strip, then fold the sides of each strip up over the filling to enclose it, pinching edges together to seal. Turn the rolls seam-sides down and press gently to flatten the seams. Chill the logs, covered with plastic wrap, for about half an hour before slicing and baking. Cut the logs crosswise with a sharp knife into 1 1/2-inch-wide slices and arrange 1/2 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Make more cookies in the same manner with the remaining chilled dough, trimmings (reroll once), and filling.
Bake the cookies, in batches, until golden around edges, about 30 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool until warm, about 10 minutes. Glaze until the cookies are still warm.
Make the icing while the first batch is baking: Whisk together the confectioners sugar, vanilla, and enough orange juice to make a pourable icing.
Brush the icing on the warm cookies. Let the icing to dry completely before packing the cookies for storing. The cookies keep, layered between sheets of parchment paper, in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week.
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