For years I have made the basic Slovak holiday desserts like nut roll ( orechovnik) and kiffles like any good hunkie would. I thought instead of using apricot and lekvar ( prune) filling for the kiffles, I would use fig filling. I used some of my fig preserve from this season and boiled it to reduce it to a paste. It was tremendous. Here are a few pics of them and the recipe below. Keep in mind these cookies are made with sugar, cream cheese, and butter. Most of family members do not make it past 65 years old.
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 to 2/3 cup additional flour (to prevent sticking during rolling)
2 12-ounce cans of pastry filling
Prepare the dough:
Whisk the 2-1/4 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
Beat the cream cheese and butter together at medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until very smooth and creamy.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour-salt mixture slowly, mixing just until combined. The dough will be quite moist, but not sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a sheet of lightly floured wax paper and flatten into a square about 3/4-inch thick. Cut into 4 equal pieces and wrap each separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, a minimum of 2 hours.
Assemble the cookies:
Preheat the oven to 375°F and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove one portion of the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a well floured sheet of wax paper. Dust the top of the dough with flour and top with another sheet of wax paper. Roll the dough out to a 1/8-inch thickness. You should end up with about a 10-11" square.
Remove the top sheet of wax paper and trim dough into a square with a pastry wheel or sharp knife. Cut the square into fourths lengthwise and crosswise to get 16 squares. (Save your scraps for re-rolling.)
Working as quickly as possible, place about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of filling in center of each square. Pinch together two opposite corners in the center and fold that "point" over to one side and smooth down very gently. This helps to prevent the cookie from popping open as it bakes.
Arrange cookies 1-1/2 inches apart on the parchment lined sheet. Bake until lightly golden, about 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minute, then carefully transfer to cooling racks. Repeat the process with the remaining 3 portions of dough, using different filling flavors if desired.
Store between layers of waxed paper in a tightly closed container and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature (30 minutes out of the fridge), arrange on a plate and dust lightly with powdered sugar just before serving. It's not advisable to top them with powdered sugar before storing.
Makes about 5 dozen