Cucidati Recipe (Italian Fig Cookies)
I’m not sure I can even put in to words how important this recipe is to me. I remember making these Cucidatis (pronounced “cooch-eh-daht-ees”) with my late grandparents back when I was maybe 6, 7 years old. Now, my brother, sister, mother and I get together every year, no matter how busy we are, about 2 weeks before Christmas to make these cookies (along with Chocolate balls).
This recipe holds a very, very dear place in my heart … and I know now that many of you probably have similar stories, but no recipe. So this is for you 🙂
This cookie recipe is not for the faint of heart. There is prep work that needs to be done days in advance. And during the cookie-making day, you really need an assembly line of people moving the cookies through the various steps. It’s the teamwork, taste-testing and quality time spent making these cookies that makes them so, so special. It’s tradition.
(you might also find yourself needing some bigger cookie sheets or even holding trays for transporting and organizing! Try these:
When my mother, brother, sister and I made these for years with my grandparents, we did the traditional roll over, and fork the ends to finish. (Old school Italians will know what I mean!
Normally I wouldn’t dare touch the order of operations on tradition, however, I had an idea on a way to make them just a little bit better this year, so we tried it.
THE SPIRAL
Now this method is slightly more involved, but not MUCH more. The issue I was trying to solve was the dough drying out on the outside where the cookie was sealed. SO, my family and I tested a new process for creating the Cucidati pinhweel, that we ended up being VERY pleased with! (I know the grandparents would be proud!)
I won’t go into detail here, because that’s what the recipe is for. But PLEASE make sure you read the steps thoroughly, and check the notes section too. Little things that you may not think are important, are there for a reason. (like using a hand-grinder for the fig!)
FOR ANYONE WHO’S BEEN SEARCHING…
I’m not biased. This recipe is REALLY, REALLY GOOD. We went a little heavier on the whiskey this year than the recipe calls for, but surprisingly, nobody complained !
If you’ve made them before, or make this recipe, please comment below and share your personal story!
Cucidatis (Italian Fig Cookie)
Equipment
- hand grinder
- cookie sheets
- oven
- electric mixer
- parchment paper
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
THE DOUGH
- 2 cup butter
- 2 cup sugar
- 6 eggs
- 7 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 4 tsp cream of tartar
- 3 tsp vanilla extract or anise extract
FIG FILLING
- 2 lbs. figs
- .5 lb dates
- .5 lb raisins
- .5 cup walnuts
- .5 lb marashino cherries
- 1 orange, grated
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- .5 tsp cloves
- .5 cup grape jelly
- .5 cup whiskey
- 1 splash lemon juice
- 1.5 tsp almond extract
ICING
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 Tbsp. milk (of choice)
Instructions
MAKE THE DOUGH.
- In large bowl, whip butter with handheld mixer. Add sugar until well combined.
- Beat in eggs, one at a time until well combined. Add extract of choice and stir.
- In separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
- In batches, add dry mix to wet mix, and stir with wooden spoon until fully incorporated. Do not over-work dough -- should come together well.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cookie assembly.
MAKE THE FILLING.
- Attach handheld grinder to counter-top and place cookie sheet underneath.
- Add cinnamon, cloves, orange, lemon, almond extract to grape jam and mix until combined.
- Put your figs, dates, nuts, cherries and raisins in separate piles. Alternate adding some of each into the grinder, and use hands to press into grinder that cranks out onto cookie sheet. (It helps to put the fig on top so that you can press everything down nicely)
- Once everything is ground up, dump into bowl and pour whiskey over the top. Mix together, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to a week.
ASSEMBLE THE COOKIES.
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Pull out fig filling and cookie dough and work dough with hands to warm up and make pliable for rolling.
- Working with a lot of flour, roll out cookie dough into long rectangle, less than 1/4inch thick.
- Add a handful of the fig filling between two pieces of parchment paper, and roll out with rolling pin to a similar size of the dough rectangle.
- Place fruit-leather-like filling sheet on top of dough sheet, leaving 1/4 inch of dough on all sides.
- Starting from one side, roll the length of the dough over itself to create a pinwheel/spiral. 2 full rotations is enough. Slice when cookie is about 1 inch thick all around. (keep in mind these get larger when they bake!)
- Trim off any ends, wrap in parchment paper and place in freezer for about 10-15 minutes to slightly harden before you slice (to keep from smushing!).
- Pull out and slice, no more than 1 inch thick. Place on greased cookie sheet approximately 1 inch apart and bake for approximately 10-14 minutes depending on size of cookie. They will be slightly browned on bottom when done.
ICING
- Remove cookies to separate area to cool. Once cooled, mix icing with hand beater working milk into powdered sugar until it "coats the back of the spoon" consistency.
- Dip cooled cucidati into bowl of icing, wipe of excess, and place on sheet to dry. Add sprinkles if desired.