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until a thick icing forms. With the beaters running, add just enough cream so that the mixture thins out to a pastelike consistency, not at all like icing. If you go too far and add too much cream, you can correct the thin filling with a little additional confectioners’ sugar, probably no more than a tablespoon or two.

3. Peanut Butter Cream Filling

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use natural peanut butter)

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter

11/3 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat the peanut butter and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth and light. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla; continue beating until smooth and thick. If you find the filling is too thick, you can thin it out with a few drops of milk or cream, beaten until smooth.

4. Maple Coffee Cream Filling

1½ tablespoons unsalted butter

11/3 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, whisked with 1 teaspoon hot water until dissolved

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

Place the butter and confectioners’ sugar in a mini-food processor; process until well combined. Add the maple syrup, espresso powder mixture, vanilla, and salt. Process until smooth and icinglike. Alternatively, cut the butter into the confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a fork until fairly smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients until creamy.

5. Pine Nut Cream Filling

½ cup pine nuts

1½ tablespoons solid vegetable shortening

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2¼ cups confectioners’ sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

Up to 1 tablespoon brandy; Cognac; a hazelnut-flavored liqueur, such as Frangelico; or an almond-flavored liqueur, such as Amaretto di Saronno

Process the pine nuts in a mini-food processor or a large food processor fitted with the chopping blade until finely ground. Add the shortening; process until combined. Add the vanilla and pulse a few times. Finally, add the confectioners’ sugar and salt; process until a creamy, icinglike filling forms. Finally, add the liquor in 1-teaspoon increments and process just until the mixture thins to a smooth cookie filling.

6. Chocolate Truffle Cream Filling

¼ cup heavy cream

5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

1½ tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Heat the cream in a small saucepan set over medium-low heat until small bubbles appear around the pan’s inner rim. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate in a medium bowl; stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Add the butter and beat with an electric mixer at low speed until the color lightens somewhat and the mixture thickens slightly. Be careful—overbeating will cause the chocolate to seize. If it does break into a lump and a watery liquid, you may be able to fix it by beating in a tablespoon or two of heavy cream. If the mixture becomes stiff as you’re filling the cookies, roll it into balls between your fingers and press these between the two cookies to create the sandwich filling.

7. Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Filling

3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons Nutella

Place the chocolate in a medium bowl in the top half of a double boiler set over about 1 inch of simmering water or in a medium bowl that fits snugly over a medium saucepan with the same amount of simmering water. Stir until half the chocolate has melted, then remove the top half of the double boiler or the bowl from over the water and continue stirring until the chocolate has completely melted. Cool for 5 minutes, then stir in the Nutella. For an even richer filling, also stir in 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened to room temperature.

Fig Cookies

These cookies are designed to taste like those fig cookies we all grew up eating. You make a filled log and bake it off before slicing it into cookies. Makes 36 cookies

16 ounces dried figs, preferably Turkish figs

8 ounces raisins

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup water

3 tablespoons brandy or orange