Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Eggless Fig Newtons

For the month of January, Sharanya the host of Home bakers challenge for this month, gave us 6 bakes to choose from.The theme was "American Food Holidays" for the month of January. She suggested 6 interesting baked goodies.I chose Fig Newtons.Thanks to Sharanya for suggesting this yummy recipe I and my family loved it.

“Fig Newtons” but made with fresh (instead of dried) figs. These are very tasty. Fig Newtons features a flavorful homemade fig preserve inside a buttery, orange-scented cookie. They’re kind of outrageous. The dough for these cookies is very good. When they first come out of the oven, they’re a bit crispy, but the next day amazingly they were still as moist and irresistible as the first day I had baked them.
  For the Filling: 

About 1 cup FreshFig Jam,

Ingredients :
All-purpose flour-11/2 cup
Unsalted butter -1/2 cup/ 1 stick
Granulated sugar -1/2 cup
Vanilla extract-1tsp
Baking powder-1tsp
Orange juice-2tbsp
Orange zest-1 tsp
Salt- ¼ tsp
 

Method:
1.Combine flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside. Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
2.Add vanilla, orange juice , orange zest and combined dry ingredients to bowl and mix until dough forms.
3.When you’re finished, you should have a soft dough similar to a sugar cookie dough. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until it’s firm enough to roll, for about two hours.
4.Take your chilled dough from the refrigerator and dust a work surface and rolling pin with flour. The dough will get sticky as it warms up, so it’s best to do this quickly and avoid adding any more flour than necessary.
 
5.Roll dough between two pieces of parchment paper into two 12 x 4 inch rectangles.
6.Spread the fig mixture on one half of each rectangle - spreading up the 12-inch side and leaving a 1/4-1/2 inch border.
7.Fold the dough over on top of itself and gently press the dough together at the edges. Cut each log in half and transfer onto a greased baking sheet.
8.Bake the cookies in the 200 degree oven for 12-15 minutes, until they’re puffed and golden brown around the edges.
9.Slice cookie- into several 1"  long sized segments and cool.Enjoy!
 

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Fresh Fig /Anjeer Jam



Fresh figs are in season now. I have only tasted the dried figs. And I have seen the fresh figs in market I wish to give a try and I couldn't wait to try my hand at making my own home made Fig jam! Making this jam is actually very simple and it turned out great!and Its taste amazing!





Ingredients
    Fresh Figs – 500 grms
    Granulated sugar – 2 cups or 1:1 Ratio
    Lemon Zest (grated) – ½ lemon
    Lemon Juice –1 tsp

Method:
1.  Remove the stems of the figs, wash & drain them. Cut into quarters or chop them up if you want jam in a paste like consistency.
 
2.  After de-stemming the figs weigh them again & use sugar which is half the weight of the figs. . If you wish to make a very sweet jam you can use figs and sugar in the ratio of 1:1
 
3. In a large saucepan, combine the figs, sugar, and lemon juice and zest. Bring to a simmer over medium low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.
4.  Check the consistency of the jam. If the jam is thick enough to your preference, turn off heat. Continue cooking to further thicken jam.
 
5. Turn off the flame and spoon the mixture into sterilized jars .when the mixture is still hot (once the mixture cools it will get sticky and it will be hard to handle). Leave the jar lids open until the mixture has cooled. Close the lids and store in a cool place.
6.  Enjoy the jam with some warm bread & butter!


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