Italian Fig Cookies {Cucidati}
The cookie known by many names. Italian Fig Cookies, Cucidati, Sicilian Fig Cookies or Buccellati are a few common ones. However, no matter what name you give them the one thing they all have in common is… they’re delicious!
Known as Cucidati in Italian, these Sicilian Fig Cookies have a sweet, nutty, fig and date filling with hints of citrus. It’s wrapped in a buttery cookie dough then baked, sliced, topped with a drizzle of icing and rainbow nonpareils. Full recipe available here--
Cucidati, Sicilian Fig Cookies
Diane Anderson, my mother, shares a wonderful recipe for making fig cookies that she learned from her grandmother. We filmed this in her kitchen after a friend of mine requested the recipe; you'll agree that I have one of the best moms in the world!
Note: the batteries ran out on the main camera, so we switched to a smartphone (you'll see a difference in quality and screen size at some point...).
Holiday Cooking: Cucidati - Sicilian Fig Cookies - Part I
Clara's Official Website: welcometoclaraskitchen.com
Clara's Holiday Special!
Cucidati Fig Cookies Part I
Recipe:
Cucidati Cookies (Sicilian Cookies by Clara)
FILLING
Boil 2 cups of water and add 1/2 cups sugar. Let cook.
3/4 cups shelled hazel nuts
1/2 cups shelled almonds
1/2 cups shelled walnuts
1/2 cups shelled pecans
Toast all nuts on cookie sheet separately (different nuts take different times to toast).
Grind together with nuts:
1/2 lb. diced candied fruit
1/4 lb. dark raisins
1/4 lb. light raisins
1/4 lb. dates (pitted)
1 orange with rind
1 dried tangerine with rind
2 lbs. figs or (2 packages or atleast 14 oz. apiece)
Mix well all the ground ingredients.
Add 1/2 or 3/4 of the cooled sugar water to make a nice soft mixture (be careful not to make it too soft).
Save the rest of the sugar water mixture.
Add 1/2 cup whiskey to ground ingredients.
Mix well and let stand overnight. Keep in a fridge or cool place.
You may need to add the sugar-water the next day.
DOUGH
10 cups flour
1 lb lard
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cold milk
2 heaping table spoons baking powder
1 table spoon vanilla
12 eggs
Work flour and lard like you would pie crust.
Melt sugar in milk.
Beat egg and add vanilla.
When flour and lard are mixed well, add baking powder, then add the other ingredients and mix until you have a nice liable dough.
Let stand at least one hour, or this can be made the day before. Cover with a clean dish towel and put in the fridge or a cool place.
Roll dough.
Fill with filling (you can use a pastry bag). Cut and bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 until golden brown.
If you like icing, mix milk, powdered sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla (preferably white vanilla). Brush on cookies and sprinkle with little colored candies.
COMPLETE INGREDIENT LIST
-Flour
-Lard
-Sugar
-Milk
-Baking Powder
-Eggs
-Powdered Sugar
-White Vanilla
-Little colored candies for topping
-Filbert nuts (or Hazel nuts)
-Almonds
-Walnuts
-Pecans
-Candied fruit
-Dark raisins
-Light raisins
-Dates
-1 Orange
-1 Tangerine rind
-2 packages of figs or at least 14oz. apiece
-Whiskey
Clara's Official Website: welcometoclaraskitchen.com
Cuccidati (Fig Cookies) - Mary'sKitchenMtl
Recipe
Ingredients for dough:
·4 cups all-purpose flour
·1/2 cup granulated sugar
·1 teaspoon baking powder
·1 teaspoon kosher salt
·3/4 cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter cut in cubes, add gradually
·4 large eggs at room temperature
·1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Ingredients for filling:
·16 sun dried figs
·1/2 cup granulated sugar
·1 ½ cups water
·1/2 cup almonds
·1/3 cup orange zest
·1/3 cup raisins (light or dark)
·4 tablespoons apricot jam
·1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
·1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
·1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Method-
Use a food processor to mix the ingredients.
Dough:
Add together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Gradually add cold butter, in cubes, while processing.
Add eggs, one at a time while processing.
Add the vanilla extract.
Continue processing until the dough comes together and forms a ball. The mixture will look coarse.
Remove mixture from the bowl, transfer onto a work surface and bring together with your hands. Shape into a ball and then cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Filling:
While the dough is cooling, prepare the filling. The filling can also be made the day before and refrigerated.
You will need 16 sun dried figs. Remove the stems and cut them in half. Place them in a medium-sized pot. Add sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until figs become soft.
Cool and then transfer into the food processor bowl, along with the sugar water. Process until smooth.
Add almonds and the remaining ingredients. Process into a thick and smooth paste, and then transfer inside another bowl.
After 1 hour, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Unwrap and transfer onto a lightly floured work surface.
Cut into 8 equal parts. Flatten each piece with fingers and then press down with a rolling pin. Sprinkle flour as needed.
Roll out the dough a little bigger than 8 inches long x 10 inches wide. It doesn’t matter if slightly longer or wider.
Remove rough edges with a knife and set aside to make more cookies later.
Cut the piece of dough into 4 equal parts. Each piece measures 4 inches long x 5 inches wide. The thickness of the dough should be about 1/8th of an inch thick.
You can make the cookies bigger or smaller, if you like. If you make them smaller, you will have more cookies, bigger will give you less.
Spread the filling with a spoon and then roll each cookie to close. Press gently with fingers and place the seam underneath. Seal both ends with a fork.
Using a sharp knife, cut 3 slits on one side of each cookie.
Place 1 inch apart on a tray lined with parchment paper. Curve into a crescent shape.
Repeat for the remaining 7 pieces of dough.
Once all cookies are made, use the trimmed edges of dough to make more cookies, as shown in the video.
Glaze the cookies with egg wash before baking. Whisk 1 egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of milk.
If you prefer sweeter, glaze the cookies with icing sugar, and lemon or orange juice. Personally, I prefer egg wash because the cookies are already sweet.
Garnish with colored sprinkles.
Place the cookie tray on the bottom oven rack. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, until light golden.
Cool completely before enjoying.
Cuccidati can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for one week. They also keep well in the refrigerator and they freeze well.
This recipe produces 32 to 34 cookies.
Cuccidati take a little time to prepare, but so does everything that is made with love!
A must try for your holiday table! These delicious cookies are traditionally eaten at Christmas, but they can be enjoyed anytime during the year!
I hope you like my video!
Thanks for watching and for subscribing to my channel! I’ll see you next time!
#desserts #cuccidati #homemade
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Music: Little Story by KUWAGO is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
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