Fig Star Cookies

Recipe by: Mary M McBride's Encyclopedia of Cooking Cream the shortening and sugar; beat in the corn syrup, maple flavoring and eggs. Sift together the flour and salt; stir into the shortening mixture. Shape the dough into two rolls about 2 1/2-inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for several hours. For the filling, cover the figs with boiling water and let stand for 10 minutes; drain, clip off the stems and cut fairly fine with scissors. Add the cold water and cook for about 10 minutes until tender. Add the corn syrup and lemon rind; cook for a few minutes longer. Mix the sugar, flour and salt; add all at once and cook, stirring, until thickened and clear. Remove from heat; add the lemon juice and nuts. Cool. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the rolls of dough into thin slices. For star cookies, put a small spoonful of fig filling in the center of a cookie slice; then with your fingers, fold up the edges and pinch in place to make a reasonable facsimile of a star. For filled cookies, put slices together in pairs with a dot of fig filling between them; press the edges together and prick the top with a fork or mark with a knife. Bake either cookie for 8 to 10 minutes, or until delicately browned around the edges. Cool on racks. Makes about 3 dozen filled cookies or 6 dozen stars. Penny Halsey (ATBN65B). Note: To freshen the cookies, reheat them in the oven for a few minutes and serve warm. --