Italian Fig Cookies (Cuccidati)

5 from 5 votes

Italian Fig Cookies (Cuccidati)

Ring in the holidays with these traditional Italian Fig Cookies (also "Cuccidati," in Italian). These decadent, tender, sweet fruit-filled cookies are drizzled with a lemon glaze and traditional holiday sprinkles. Perfetto! Makes 8 dozen cookies, recipe can be halved!

Prep Time1

Cook Time15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: cookies

Calories: 178kcal

Author: Marie

Ingredients

For the cookie dough

8 cups all purpose flour
2 cups shortening may also use lard or margarine
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 small oranges zest only
1/2 cup milk scant

For the filling

1.5 cups raisins
6 cups dried figs in a pinch, may substitute prunes or mix with prunes.
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup jam suggest using orange, apricot, or fig
3 cups nuts almonds, hazelnuts, or mixture of them
2 tbsp rum or vanilla extract
1 small orange zest only
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
hot water as need to achieve thick smooth paste-like filling

To decorate

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk or more, use less at first to get very thick consistency
colored sprinkles or jimmies
lemon extract or zest a few drops (or a teaspoon of lemon zest)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To Make the Dough

Add flour, shortening, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a food processor and mix/pulse until you obtain a sandy mixture. You can do this by hand if you don't have a food processor (use a fork or a whisk to alternate breaking up the shortening and mixing)
On a clean work surface or in a large mixing bowl, add sugar, orange zest, and eggs to the sandy mixture and then knead to form a soft dough.
If necessary, add milk a little at a time if the dough is too dry.
Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll into log shapes. Store in plastic bag while making filling. May chill overnight if desired.

To Make the Filling

Soak raisins (and figs if they are very dry/brittle) in hot water for about 10 minutes to rehydrate them.
Drain, and then add raisins to the clean bowl of a food processor with all the other ingredients including the nuts (except hot water) and mix until you get a thick smooth paste.
If necessary, add some hot water (a tablespoon at a time) if mixture is too dry or will not smooth out.
Refrigerate the filling to firm it up (1 hour in fridge or 20 to 30 minutes in freezer).

To Fill and Bake the Cookies

Preheat oven at 375 degree F.
On a clean work surface, dust surface with flour and roll portions of dough out into a long rectangle that is approximately 12 inches long by 6 to 8 inches wide.
Divide the filling by 8. For each strip of dough, add a log/strip of filling to the center and then fold the edge of the dough over top and bottom to seal the filling inside. Roll the filled logs gently to seal.
Refrigerate the logs for 1 hour or place in the freezer for up to 30 minutes before slicing.
Slice each log into about 12 pieces (each piece, about 1 inch wide) and place on lined cookie sheet (I use parchment or silicone baking sheets)
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until cookies just begin to get some color.

To Make the Frosting and Decorate the Cookies

While cookies are cooling, make frosting.
In a small bowl, add powdered sugar and one tablespoon of milk (and lemon if using) at a time until you get a very thick frosting. Drizzle the frosting over the cooled cookies and then while frosting is still wet, decorate with sprinkles.

Nutrition