CUCIDATI (ITALIAN FIG COOKIES)
This is my favorite Cucidati recipe!!! These cookies are a little time consuming, but well worth the effort! It wouldn't be Christmas in our house without them. I make them every year, often doubling the recipe! I can't remember how many cookies this recipe makes, and often they disappear before I can start counting! (Prep time includes chilling time)
Provided by Kim D.
Categories Dessert
Time 2h15m
Yield 36 cookies
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- For cookie dough, sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.
- Add sugar and stir well.
- Cut in the shortening with a fork or pastry blender and work the mixture until it looks like corn meal.
- In a bowl, beat egg, vanilla and milk together.
- Add egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes until well blended; dough will be soft.
- (The original recipe says to knead the mixture for 5 minutes on a floured surface, but I find my Kitchen-Aid works great for this step!) Divide the dough into four pieces and wrap each piece with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate dough for 45 minutes.
- To make the filling, grind figs, dates and raisins in a food processor until coarse.
- (If you don't have a food processor, you can chop by hand until coarse) Place chopped figs, dates and raisins in a bowl.
- Add remaining filling ingredients and mix well.
- (Mixture will be thick) Set aside mixture.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Work with one piece of dough at a time, leaving the other pieces of dough in the refrigerator until needed.
- On a floured surface (I often use confectioner's sugar for rolling my dough), roll the dough to a 12-inch square.
- Cut dough into 2X3-inch rectangles.
- Spoon about 1 teaspoon of filling onto each rectangle.
- Carefully fold the long edges over to meet in the center and pinch to seal seam.
- Place each cookie, seam side down, on a baking sheet, making sure you leave at least 1-2 inches between each cookie.
- Make 2 or 3 diagonal slits on the top of each cookie with a sharp knife.
- Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until cookies are golden in color.
- Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
- For icing, place confectioner's sugar in a bowl.
- Add just a little water or milk, until you get a smooth consistency- but not runny!
- Ice the tops of each cookie and sprinkle with colored sprinkle.
- Let icing dry completely before stacking!
- Store in air-tight containers up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 197.3, Fat 7.2, SaturatedFat 1.9, Cholesterol 5.6, Sodium 67.8, Carbohydrate 32.1, Fiber 1.4, Sugar 19.1, Protein 2.3
FIG-STUFFED COOKIES: CUCCIDATI ITALIAN
My husband's grandmother used to make these during the holidays. Now every year at Christmas, as a family, we take on some big project in the kitchen. One time it was to make a timpano (like from the movie Big Night) and last year it was to re-create the stunning sculpted fig-stuffed cookies of their childhood called cuccidati (Goo-ji-data). His sister Fran and I taught ourselves how to make them from a photo we had. We didn't have the original recipe - only memories - so thank God for the Internet! We found some recipes and compiled our own from what we read. They are beautiful to look at when they're done, shaped and carved with a small knife to look like birds, fish and baskets of flowers. And the icing gives them the look of porcelain. They really are almost too pretty to eat. But you can make a simple version by just rolling out a piece of dough and filling it with the fig filling, then rolling it up and cutting it into 1-inch sections.
Provided by Food Network
Categories dessert
Time 1h20m
Yield 5 dozen cookies
Number Of Ingredients 25
Steps:
- Make the Filling: In a bowl, combine the figs with 4 tablespoons of brandy and let soak overnight or up to 4 weeks.
- In a food processor, combine the soaked figs, the remaining 2 tablespoons brandy, and all the remaining filling ingredients. Process until chopped and well combined. (Alternatively, run all the ingredients through a meat grinder. Some Italian women bring their filling ingredients to the butcher and have him grind it for them.) Keep chilled until ready to use.
- Make the Pastry: In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse until it looks like fine crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk together the 2 eggs and milk. While the motor in running, pour the liquid through the feed tube until just combined and a dough is formed. Form the dough into a disk and chill 30 minutes.
- On a floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/8-inch thick. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut out large (3-inch long) almond shaped pieces from the dough. Transfer the pieces to a sheet pan; then chill.
- To form the cookies, have ready the filling, the chilled dough pieces, the egg wash with a pastry brush, and a sharp knife. Paint the edges of the dough pieces with egg wash and place 1 teaspoon of filling shaped into an oval in the center of half the pieces. Top each with a second piece of dough and carefully pinch the edges together to seal. Trim the excess dough from around the edges.
- Make each dough package look like a bird or fish, by shaping and cutting decorative lines. You can split 1 end to look like a tail, carve rows of lines to look like feathers or fins, cut a curved line for the gills or beak opening, and a hole for the eye. (There are many different shapes they're made into, such as wreaths, slippers, and crescents.) Re-chill the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Brush the cookies with the egg wash. Bake the cookies until lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile make the Icing: In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.
- Toss the cookies with the icing while they're still hot and sprinkle with the colored sprinkles, or leave them plain. The icing makes the cookies look like porcelain when they're done.
ITALIAN FIG COOKIES (CUCCIDATI)
Finally nailed an old family recipe! Traditionally served at Christmas time, these Italian cuccidati are fig-stuffed cookies-think fancy, gourmet, adult-version of a fig newton! A flavorful fig and date filling is wrapped in a soft, sweet dough, then baked and dipped in festive frosting and decorated with sprinkles. Need to send cookies through the mail? These are perfect for gifting! My favorite way to enjoy these cookies is for breakfast with a hot cup of coffee. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Alternatively, freeze un-iced cookies for up to 3 months and ice just before serving.
Provided by NicoleMcmom
Categories Italian Cookies
Time 9h45m
Yield 48
Number Of Ingredients 26
Steps:
- Prepare filling: Working in two batches with ½ of the figs and ½ of the dates at a time, pulse dried fruit in a food processor until finely chopped; transfer to a bowl.
- Use a vegetable peeler to peel orange zest into the empty food processer. Juice the orange until you have 3 tablespoons juice; add it to the food processor. Add raisins, pecans, honey, brandy, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg and process until finely mixed.
- Add fig-date mixture and process until well combined, adding water 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to reach a thick consistency. Refrigerate filling for 8 hours to overnight.
- Prepare dough: Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor and process for 5 seconds to combine. Add butter and shortening and pulse until crumbly. Add milk, egg, vanilla, and almond extract and process until a dough forms.
- Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and knead until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Turn dough onto a floured surface and cut into 4 pieces. Roll one piece into a 4x12-inch rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick. Trim off any excess to form straight edges and save to make more cookies.
- Place about ¼ of the filling in a 1-inch log shape down the rectangle, just to the right of the center line. Dampen the edges of the dough with water and fold the right edge over the filling. Continue rolling the dough toward the left edge, then rock back and forth gently to stretch and seal the edges. Cut the log into 2- to 3-inch pieces. Make 2 or 3 slits in the top of each cookie to allow steam to escape. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven until golden on the bottom and cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Repeat to form, cut, and bake remaining cookies.
- Prepare icing by whisking powdered sugar and milk together in a bowl until smooth. Divide icing into thirds in 3 small bowls. Color one bowl with red food coloring to make pink icing, color another bowl with green food coloring to make green icing, and leave the remaining icing white.
- Dip each cookie into a different color icing and allow excess to drip off. Place iced cookies on parchment paper and decorate lightly with sprinkles. Allow to dry for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 159.3 calories, Carbohydrate 27.4 g, Cholesterol 9.3 mg, Fat 5.2 g, Fiber 2 g, Protein 2 g, SaturatedFat 1.8 g, Sodium 65.9 mg
ITALIAN FIG COOKIES I
This recipe has been handed down through my mother's family for years. My grandmother brought it with her from Italy in the early 1900's. My mom taught me the recipe this year. Now I am the designated person in our family to make the Fig Cookies. This is a very high honor. So they must be as good as my Grandmothers' cookies. Some call them Homemade Fig Newtons. They are a tradition at Christmas and are wonderful with a hot cup of coffee. They are lot of work. I make them in stages. First the dough, then a few days later the figs, and finally I will make the cookies. The dough and the figs keep well in the refrigerator and the cookies freeze very well.
Provided by Mary Jo
Categories World Cuisine Recipes European Italian
Yield 60
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- To Make Dough: Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs, vanilla, and salt. Blend in flour and baking powder by hand. Knead dough until smooth and workable. Add milk to reach workable consistency. (This takes a while and you will get a workout, but you'll know when it's right.)
- To Make Filling: Cut up figs, orange, and apple into small pieces. (It is easier to grind this way). Grind figs, raisins, orange, and apple. If the mixture is too dry or thick, mix in up to 1 cup of water, if desired. (I do not use the water, the juice from the apple and orange are enough). The spices and chopped nuts are added to the ground fig mixture. After the fig mixture is ground, I sprinkle them in over the mixture and mix (knead) it in by hand. STICKY! But good.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Roll out some dough. (should be kind of thin). Put fig mixture in a line. Wrap dough over mixture, sealing figs inside dough. Trim to desired length, using a diagonal cut. Make small diagonal slits in the sides of the cookies. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes. (Dough makes good cookies without the filling also). Wonderful with coffee.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 301.5 calories, Carbohydrate 51.9 g, Cholesterol 19.4 mg, Fat 10.1 g, Fiber 4.9 g, Protein 4.1 g, SaturatedFat 2.3 g, Sodium 71.8 mg, Sugar 33.1 g
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