Simple Butter Cookies, Figs, Ricotta & Mint
This isn't really a recipe- it is just a snack I threw together to cheer myself up this afternoon... sometimes that just has to be!
I was feeling sweet-toothed, had missed out on my once weekly indulgence of coffee and cake in town with my friends today... and was feeling the need for... something!
Basically, the truth of the matter is that I was just about to sit down with a mug of coffee and a handful of cookies. Really simple (but still delicious!), wholemeal butter cookies. old-school, basic and good. But then I thought.. you COULD still do something fun with them! And so I did!
8 cookies, 2 figs, 2 tablespoons of fresh ricotta cheese and 4-5 leaves of mint. That was basically all I used. And I know you can see 9 cookies here... but I couldn't help myself!
I had to wait for a half hour or so until I could enjoy my little indulgence... but it was fun and it was worth it... gave me a chance to put my feet up for a while anyway!
Basically, I simply mashed the figs down into a pulp, just using a fork- no fussing and added a teaspoon of cinnamon. I stirred these well together and basically that was that- the fig was so sweet it needed no extra sugar... which made it perfect!
I added 4-5 finely chopped fresh mint leaves to the ricotta and whisked it through it became nice and creamy and smooth. I opted to leave min unsweetened- but of course it is a matter of taste and you can always add a little sugar or honey.
And obviously, all that I did was to build up my little cookie creation in layers- first of all the fig puree...
Then a generous amount of the minty ricotta...
... and a final layer of fig on top. This will slowly be soaked up by the cookies and they will soften slightly as they soak-up the juices and flavor of the fig and cinnamon.
And of course the last detail, with the squiggly lines of ricotta that I piped on top, was simply a case of me being playful! Feel free to pipe, spread or just add the last of the ricotta in little blobs- it is all good as long as it is there!
A little fresh fig and mint on top- and there you have a fun little "dessert" of sorts, rather than just a little stack of cookies! What's not to like about that!??!
After 30 minutes or so, the cookies are already softening slightly, but after an hour, they would be better still I would have thought. Only I will never know as I ate mine almost immediately! These impulsive cooks!!!
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