Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup packed soft dried Mission figs (8 oz), hard tips discarded
• 3/4 cup mild honey
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

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Instructions

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
2. Pulse butter, cream cheese, yolk, and vanilla in a food processor until smooth, then add flour mixture and pulse until dough just forms a ball.
3. Halve dough and form each half into a roughly 6- by 2-inch rectangle. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 1/2 hours.
4. Make filling: Purée figs, honey, juice, zest, and cinnamon in cleaned food processor until almost smooth.
5. Purée figs, honey, juice, zest, and cinnamon in cleaned food processor until almost smooth.
6. Make logs: Roll out 1 piece of dough between 2 sheets of wax paper into a 10- by 8-inch rectangle (about 1/3 inch thick), long side facing you. Remove top sheet of wax paper and gently spread one fourth of fig mixture over bottom half of dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Using wax paper as an aid, roll dough, jelly-roll style, halfway, enclosing fig mixture. Flip dough, with wax paper. Remove paper. Spread with one third of remaining fig mixture and roll in same manner, to form an S-shaped log. Make another log. Chill logs, wrapped in wax paper, until firm, at least 4 hours.
7. Roll out 1 piece of dough between 2 sheets of wax paper into a 10- by 8-inch rectangle (about 1/3 inch thick), long side facing you. Remove top sheet of wax paper and gently spread one fourth of fig mixture over bottom half of dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Using wax paper as an aid, roll dough, jelly-roll style, halfway, enclosing fig mixture. Flip dough, with wax paper. Remove paper. Spread with one third of remaining fig mixture and roll in same manner, to form an S-shaped log. Make another log. Chill logs, wrapped in wax paper, until firm, at least 4 hours.
8. Bake cookies: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Cut logs crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices and arrange slices about 2 inches apart on lightly buttered baking sheets. Bake until pastry is pale golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool.
9. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.
10. Cut logs crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices and arrange slices about 2 inches apart on lightly buttered baking sheets. Bake until pastry is pale golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool.