X Cookies

Cooking Instructions

THE DOUGH

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade; pulse just to mix. Add the butter pieces to the bowl and pulse 15 to 20 times to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Add the eggs and pulse until the dough forms a ball on the blade. Remove the dough from the processor and knead it briefly on a lightly floured work surface until it is smooth. Shape the dough into a log and wrap it in plastic; set aside while you make the filling. (You'll be using the food processor for the next step, so there's no need to wash it.)

THE FILLING

Remove the stems from the figs and cut the figs into medium-size dice. The figs should be soft and moist, the kind you'd like to eat out of hand. If they are hard, they won't improve during baking, so they need to be plumped: Cover them with boiling water and allow them to steep for 5 minutes, then drain well and carry on. Put the figs and the rest of the filling ingredients into the work bowl of the food processor and pulse with the metal blade until the mixture is finely chopped. Scrape the filling onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the filling to blend it, and shape it into a rough log. Cut the log into 12 pieces.

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Assembling the Cookies

Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time, on a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough under your hands to form a 12-inch rope. Use a rolling pin to roll the rope into a 3- by 12-inch rectangle. (Actually, because of the eggs, butter, and sugar, the dough is very soft and extremely easy to work, so easy that you can pat it out rather than roll it out with the pin if you prefer.) Run a blunt knife under the dough just to make certain it hasn't stuck to the work surface and brush the top of the dough with egg wash. Roll a piece of filling into a 12-inch rope and center it on the rolled-out dough. Pull the dough up around the filling, making a seam, and roll it into a cylinder, lengthening the dough a little as you roll so that the cylinder ends up about 15 inches long. Cut into 2-1/2- to 3-inch lengths. (Once you've cut the first length, use it as a measuring guide for cutting the others.)

Place a cut piece of dough vertically in front of you, seam side down, and make two 1-inch-long cuts, one from the bottom, the other from the top, toward the center. Use your fingers to separate the slashes and create an X-shaped cookie. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking pans and repeat with the remaining portions of dough and filling.

Baking the Cookies

Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are a light golden color. Transfer to racks to cool. just before serving, dust the cookies with confectioner's sugar.

Storing

The cookies will keep for a week in a tightly sealed tin or plastic container.