Makes 5 dozen small cookies

Many years ago Lee Bailey, the wonderful cookbook author, gave me this recipe and asked us to make 600 pounds of cookies for him to sell at his store in Saks Fifth Avenue during Christmas. Nobody really likes fruitcake, but they love these cookies—they're so delicious!

½ pound dried figs
¼ pound raisins
¼ pound candied cherries, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 ounces chopped walnuts
kosher salt
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup superfine sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 extra-large egg
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

Snip off the hard stems of the figs with scissors or a small knife and coarsely chop the figs. In a medium bowl, combine the figs, raisins, cherries, honey, sherry, lemon juice, walnuts, and a pinch of salt. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit overnight at room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, cloves, superfine sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg and mix until incorporated. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the flour and ¼ teaspoon salt and mix just until combined. Don't overmix! Add the fruits and nuts, including any liquid in the bowl. Divide the dough in half and place each half on the long edge of a 12 3 18-inch piece of parchment or wax paper. Roll each half into a log, 1 ½ to 1 ¾ inches thick, making an 18-inch-long roll. Refrigerate the dough for several hours, or until firm.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

With a small, sharp knife, cut the logs into ½-inch-thick slices. Place the slices ½ inch apart on ungreased sheet pans and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly golden.

Copyright © 2006 by Ina Garten. All rights reserved.