Fig Moons

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Make the pastry by whisking together flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Cut in oil with a fork or a pastry cutter to create the texture of crumbling sand. Slowly mix in the rice & soy blend to create a soft, pliable dough, not too sticky or too dry. Knead 2-3 times to gather the dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic and set aside.

Prepare the filling by combining the figs, rice syrup, salt, lemon zest, and the rice & soy blend in a saucepan and turning the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently until the figs are soft, about 15 minutes. Stir in dissolved kuzu and cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment paper, creating a rectangle of dough that is about 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3 inch cookie cutter or glass, cut round shapes in the dough. Place a teaspoon of fig filling on one side of each round, and then fold over creating a half moon. Seal the edges of each half moon with a fork, pressing them together to create a decorative edge. Place each fig moon on the lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ingredients, re-rolling dough as necessary.

Bake fig moons until they are firm to the touch and edges are lightly browned, 20-28 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 20-24 cookies.

Note:

For added zip, cook some rice syrup to a high foam and spoon it over each cookie as a sticky glaze.