(Makes about 60 cookies)

INGREDIENTS

  • 80 g of soaked Amìo red beans (about 30 g dried)
  • 200 g of dried figs
  • 250 g of butter
  • 500 g of flour
  • 100 g of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 2 pinches of salt

PROCEDURE

    1. The night before preparation, soak the red beans in cold water for 12 hours. Then rinse them under running water and place them in a pot with about half a liter of water for every 100 g of beans. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat for 50–55 minutes. Add one teaspoon of coarse salt only at the end of cooking to make them softer.
    2. Roughly chop the dried figs and place them in a food processor along with the cooked red beans and the cinnamon. Blend until you get a smooth paste.
      Transfer this paste onto a sheet of parchment paper, cover with another sheet, and roll it out with a rolling pin to form a rectangle about 25×12 cm and 5 mm thick. Place it in the refrigerator to chill.
    3. Now prepare the cookie dough.
      In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add the butter in pieces and work it in with your fingertips until the mixture becomes crumbly. Add 5–6 tablespoons of water to form a workable dough, shape it into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
    4. Take the chilled dough and roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper into a large square. Then cut it into strips about 6 cm wide.
    5. Take the fig and bean paste and cut it into 1 cm-wide strips. Place each strip in the center of a dough strip, then fold the dough over like a wallet, leaving the seam on the bottom, and press well to seal.
    6. Cut the cookies into pieces approximately 3 cm long. To decorate the surface, gently press the tines of a fork onto each cookie. This technique adds a simple yet elegant pattern to the cookies, enhancing their homemade appearance.
    7. Place the cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake at 180°C (350°F) for about 15 minutes.
    8. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack, and once completely cooled, dust them with powdered sugar.

Have you ever considered making cookies using pulses as an ingredient?
Pulses are so versatile that they’re perfect for a wide range of dishes—even sweet ones!
While I was making these cookies, I was really curious to taste them—I couldn’t wait for them to finish baking so I could try them and see if the combination of ingredients I had in mind would actually work… and to my great delight, I can say it did!
I was thrilled with the result—truly excellent cookies: crisp, flavorful, and where the sweetness of the figs is beautifully enhanced by the delicate taste of the red beans, which prove to be a perfect ingredient even for sweet recipes.