These snowy-looking, Old World-style cookies are perfect for the holidays. The powdered sugar may draw the children in the room (or the child inside every adult); however, these pockets, spiked with brandy and packed with figs, walnuts, chocolate, and honey, are strictly for the grown-ups. Inspired by rustic Greek pastries and ingredients, these cookies are the perfect combination of spicy and sweet, simple and sophisticated. The basic pastry shell, lightly perfumed with cinnamon and cloves, gives way to a complex, flavor-packed interior. The pockets are easy to make with a bit of forethought, and due to their sturdy crust, they travel well . . . that is, if they don't all disappear straight off the cooling rack first!

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