Cuccidati - Italian Fig Cookies

Cuccidati (or cucciddati) are a traditional Sicilian Christmas cookie made with short crust dough and filled with a delicious blend of dried figs, raisins, chocolate, nuts, jam, and marsala wine.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 1 30

Cook Time 25

Servings cookies

Calories 334kcal

Author Pina Bresciani

Ingredients

For the dough

3.5 cups 00 flour
½ cup +2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup whole milk

For the filling

3 cups dried figs
⅓ cup shelled pistachios unsalted
½ cup walnuts unsalted
⅓ cup natural almonds unsalted
¼ cup hazelnuts unsalted
⅓ cup apricot jam
¼ cup marsala wine
⅓ cup candied orange and lemon peel
½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
¾ cup raisins
zest of half an orange
½ teaspoon cinnamon

For the glaze

1 ¼ cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar sifted
1 egg white
1 teaspoon lemon juice
multicolored sprinkles

Instructions

Make the dough

In the bowl of a KitchenAid mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour and butter. Mix until butter is incorporated into flour and is sand-like in texture.
Add the sugar, eggs and baking powder and mix again. Add the milk, and at this point the dough should come together into a ball.
Remove the dough from the bowl, form it into a ball, cover in plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes.

Make the filling

Soak the figs and raisins separately in warm water for about 30 minutes. Drain and place on a dish towel and pat dry. Cut the stems off the figs.
Toast all the nuts in a pan over medium heat until fragrant.
Add the nuts to a food processor and process until coarse.
Add the figs, marsala and jam to the food processor and process until a paste starts to form.
Add the candied fruit, chocolate and raisins. Process again.
Add the cinnamon and orange peel, and process one final time. The consistency should be that of a thick paste. Note you may have to work in two batches if food processor is not large enough to fit all ingredients.

Assemble and bake the cookies

Remove the dough from the fridge, cut off a piece of the dough and roll it out on a floured surface into a rectangle shape until about 3mm thick.
Place one quarter of the filling lengthwise on the dough and fold the dough over the filling creating a seam. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Place the log seem side down and cut into 1 inch pieces.
Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350F for approximately 20-25 minutes, until golden on the bottom. Let cool.
Once cookies are cool, make the glaze: In a bowl with a fork, mix together powdered sugar, egg white and lemon juice.
Dip the tops of the cookies in the glaze, and top with sprinkles immediately. Let the glaze harden. Serve and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Figs to use: You can use turkish dried fish (light brown in color), or mission dried figs. Both will work well. Turkish figs are more commonly used in this recipe.
When rolling out the dough, you may have to roll it out with flour a few times in order to get it into a work-able consistency.
Depending on the size of your food processor, you may have to work in batches to make the filling.
Add the sprinkles to the cookies as soon as you dip the cookie in the glaze. The glaze hardens quickly, so the sprinkles won't stick if you wait too long

Nutrition