Fig Biscuits

My friends, the parents of my new baby god-daughter, gave me this book for Christmas. The Nostalgic Cook Book is a collection of super simple dishes to make with limited ingredients, which were mostly compiled from the war time rationing days of 1940's Britain. There's some interesting stuff in here, like a glossary if herbs and a chart that shows which vegetables are in season in which months of the year, pretty useful. There's also a section of dishes you can make when cooking for one, why do so many cookbooks feel the need to feature that? What is it, so that Billy-No-Mates won't accidentally make a feast for 40 when all he wanted was a sandwich? One of the highlights of that section is a recipe for a cup of coffee. Both white and black!
It's obvious this book is written by a man, the name Bill Habets is a clue. I looked on Amazon for a picture of the cover of this book, so that I wouldn't have to scan it in, and a list of other tomes by old Bill came up. Titles like How To Talk To Your Dog, The Complete Guide To Tinnitus, and The Sciatica Handbook. Yummy! There are others in the same vein. Look it up yourself if you don't believe me!
So, now that all of our mouths are watering, lets get started.
I love fig biscuits, and the idea that I'll be able to make them myself with the minimum of fuss and effort is super cool, the fact that these are sugar free is an extra incentive!
The recipe is very simple, the dough has 4 ingredients and so does the filling, but nothing is really simple in my life... I made the dough in about 2 minutes and started in on the filling. It seemed odd too use only 4 figs for a piece of dough the size of a good fist, but that's what 2-3 oz came to (I slipped a fifth one in there), oh and working with ounces was also a pleasure, not confusing at all. Thanks a lot Bill, how delightfully eccentric.
As I was chopping the figs my concentration slipped, I think I was listening to the boyfriend blither-blathering something about football, and, well lets just say I damn near cut my entire fricking thumb off! I jumped around the kitchen screaming 'SCIATICA' for a few minutes, dabbed the wound with iodine ~ (more screaming, but if you don't do it, you'll never learn...), and from then on the procedure was limited to ordering the bf what to do to finish.
Result: Pretty, right? They don't look nothing like fig rolls, there wasn't really as much filling as I would have liked, so the shape is pretty flat and austere looking. They're also fairly fragile and crumbly, but the taste is great. They don't lack any sweetness and while the pastry casing is a bit serious and plain, the fig mix in the middle has a lot of flavour. You need a cup of tea though. And something good on tv. And for everyone else to go away so you can convalesce in peace!