For Dough:
1 cup butter softened
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
For Filling:
16 ounces dried figs, woody stems removed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
Juice of 1 lemon (1/2 cup)
For Egg Wash:
1 egg whisked with tablespoon of water.
Make Dough:
In bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, making sure to scrape down sides of bowl. Slowly add egg and beat together. Add salt and flour and mix you may want to finish mixing by hand.
Wrap dough in two layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour
Make Filling:
Finely chop figs, if you want the filling to to be smooth, coarsely chop if you don't mind a chunky filling
In medium saucepan, combine figs, sugar, water, and lemon juice. Place over medium-low heat and cook until figs are tender and liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Assemble and Bake Cookies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Divide dough in 4 pieces and roll each piece nto a roughly 6- by 12-inch rectangle. Place dough rectangles on parchment-paper-lined baking sheets. Brush edges with egg wash. Spread quarter of filling along center of each rectangle then fold edges up to form a log and press to seal. Roll each log over so that seam is on the bottom. Brush each log with egg wash.
Bake logs until nicely browned, about 15 to 25 minutes depending on your cookie sheet and oven. Remove from oven cool slightly and slice into small bars.
NOTE:
Found the original recipe on epicurious and have altered it slightly.
The original recipe called for dividing the dough into two logs and making very big fig newtons. I divided mine into four.
