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Posh in Progress

How to Make This Italian Fig Cookies Recipe (Cuccidati)

By Stacey Freeman Leave a Comment

Italian Fig Cookies Recipe
One of my very favorite things to do during the holidays is to bake. I love trying different cookies, cakes, bread, and bar recipes. Over the years, I’ve tried to find different Italian recipes as a way to learn more about my cultural heritage and feel a connection to my Italian roots. My grandparent immigrated to the U.S. before my dad was born. They died when I was quite young, so connecting to my heritage through food and travel is how I’ve tried to make that connection. This Italian fig cookies recipe is the newest in a line of Italian recipes I’ve made lately.

I’ve never made homemade fig cookies. I didn’t even realize that fig cookies, also known as cuccidati cookies, were an Italian thing. My research found that fig cookies originated in Sicily so they are sometimes called Sicilian fig cookies or Sicilian cuccidati cookies. Wikipedia tells me that cuccidati are also known as cucidati or buccellati. Whatever you decide to call them, they are fig-stuffed cookies traditionally served at Christmas time. The outer cookie is a pastry dough, although sweeter than most pastry dough I’m used to. They are cover in icing and typically topped with rainbow sprinkles – just as Italian easter cookies are. The filling is a combination of dried fruit, nuts, spices and jam. The cookies are made into a log and then cut into short tubs or “bracelets”. 

Italian Fig Cookies Recipe 2
Although the recipe calls for a lot of ingredients, nothing about it seemed very complicated. The majority of the steps are actually done right in your food processor. The dough takes only minutes to put together in the food processor. Also, the filling is equally simple to put together in the food processor. 

The most difficult part of this recipe is the process of rolling out the dough and gently covering up the mixture with the pastry dough. I would suggest airing on the side of using too much flour when you roll out your dough. My first batch, I didn’t use enough flour and my dough stuck to the cutting board. Thus, my first batch was not very pretty. There were gaps in the dough that I had to use scraps to fill in. It just made for ugly looking cookies. They still tasted great, but looked horrible. 

Despite the bad first batch, the second batch turned out wonderfully and they are so much better than store-bough fig cookies. The cool thing about this Italian fig cookies recipe is that it is totally adaptable. You can adjust the filling flavors to find a combination you love. 

@poshinprogressHow to make Italian fig cookies, also called Sicilian fig cookies or cuccidati 😋 ##christmascookies ##homecooked ##familyrecipe

♬ Italian Dinner Party – Italian Restaurant Music of Italy

Italian Fig Cookies Recipe 3
If you’re looking for other Italian recipes – you must try my panettone recipe and my Italian wedding cookies recipe. 

Italian Fig Cookies Recipe (Cucidati) 

1 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp sugar
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 oz unsalted butter 
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 tbsp milk

Filling:
½ cup dried figs 
¼ cup dates 
¼ cup raisins 
2 tbsp blanched almonds  
1 ½ tbsp honey
2 tbsp apricot preserves
¼ tsp cinnamon

To top
¼ cup confectioner’s sugar 
½ tbsp lemon juice
nonpareils (small round sprinkles)

Directions:

Dough: Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor and pulse briefly to mix. Add the butter, in small cubes, the vanilla and egg and pulse to form crumbs. Add the milk and pulse a couple times to bring the mixture together.

Remove the blade from the food processor and take out the dough. Knead it briefly (just once or twice) and bring the dough together in a ball. Wrap it in cling wrap/film and chill for at least an hour or two until firm or leave overnight. If you leave overnight, you may need to take it out 20min or so before rolling so it is not too cold.

Filling: Remove the tough stem from the fibs then chop them into roughly quarters. Roughly chop the dates, if not already chopped. Place the figs, dates, raisins, almonds, chocolate, honey, marmalade/jam, brandy/whisky and cinnamon in the food processor and blend until relatively smooth paste forms, scraping down and pulsing slightly more as needed.

Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Line a baking sheet/tray with parchment or a silicone mat. Unwrap the cookie dough and roll it on a floured surface into a rectangle roughly 10in x 8in (25cm x 20cm). Neaten off the edges so they are relatively straight.

Assembly: Cut the piece of dough in half the long way (ie so you have two pieces around 10 x 4in). Separate the pieces of dough slightly to make them easier to work with and to make sure they are not stuck to the work surface. Divide the filling in two and use half to make a log the length of one of the pieces of dough, in the middle. Make sure it goes right to the end.

Roll over one side of the dough and keep rolling so it goes all the way rough and the join is on the bottom. It is fine if it overlaps slightly. Cut the log into slices roughly 1 -1 ½in (3-4cm ) in length. Transfer them to the lined baking sheet and then repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.

Bake the cookies for approximately 15 minutes until the dough looks slightly dry and they are just starting to brown at the edges and underneath. They may feel slightly soft on top but they should feel dry. Allow cooling a couple of minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Glaze: Once the cookies have completely cooled, Place the cooling rack with the cookies over a baking sheet (to collect any dropped sprinkles). Sift the confectioner’s sugar into a small bowl. Add the lemon juice and mix until smooth. Drizzle/spoon a little of the glaze on top of around 3-4 cookies at a time then sprinkle on some sprinkles on top. Repeat with the rest. (Alternatively, you can turn the cookie over and dip them in the frosting, but it will likely run slightly and be a bit thicker. You will also need more glaze – I’d suggest making around double to have enough to dip in.)
Allow the glaze to dry before transferring to a container. The cookies will keep well for a good few days or more, the sprinkles may just bleed a little color.
 

Tagged With: Christmas Cookies, cuccidati, fig cookie, fig cookies, Italian, Italian recipe, Italian recipes, Sicilian

About Stacey Freeman

I am a Style Maven, Mommy, Educator, and Traveler.

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POSH IN PROGRESS - Since 2013
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Executive Director - UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute
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Dr. Stacey Freeman
Does anyone else have the January blues? . After Does anyone else have the January blues? 
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After the high of the holidays, I find myself feeling kinda sad in January.
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Last week in Puerto Vallarta was such a dream but I’m definitely feeling the post-vacation blues. 
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Don’t mind me, I may be posting these vaca photos for awhile. Take me back 😭. @villapremiere @enroute_communications #puertovallarta #travelblog #travelgram #hosted #hosteby
“Meet me where the sky touches the sea” 💙. “Meet me where the sky touches the sea” 💙. 
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I’ve received a lot of DMs about traveling to Puerto Vallarta. New on poshinprogress.com, I’m sharing a full blog recap, including my thoughts on traveling during the pandemic and the experience we had.
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Here’s a bit about where we stayed —  @villapremiere — is doing a fantastic job at keeping their employees and guests safe. Everyone is required to wear a mask; social distancing is maintained at all restaurants and public spaces; staff do not enter rooms except for room cleaning when the room is empty; hand sanitizing stations are present throughout the resort; hotel capacity is capped to ensure proper social distancing. I honestly felt very safe. If you have any other questions, please dm me or leave your questions below. 
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Big smiles in my @shein_us birthday look while I e Big smiles in my @shein_us birthday look while I explored the gorgeous hotel grounds. 
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@villapremiere has gone out of their way to make my birthday magical. For my birthday dinner, they created a private four-course dinner for us in their gazebo peninsula that has the most amazing views of downtown Puerto Vallarta. Check out the (shaky) video I took as we walked to dinner. Honestly, I’ve never had such a special birthday. I can’t thank @villapremiere and @enroute_communications enough. 
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This is the first vacation I’ve had where the ha This is the first vacation I’ve had where the hardest decision is what drink to order at the swim up bar🍹. To say @villapremiere is true paradise wouldn’t even do it justice. We keep saying to each other, “this doesn’t feel like real life, we are so lucky.” Thank you @villapremiere for the absolute best birthday I’ve ever had. 
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“Every year should teach you something valuable; “Every year should teach you something valuable; whether you get the lesson is up to you. Every year brings you closer to expressing your whole and healed self.” - @oprah 
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When I thought about where to celebrate my birthday this year, I immediately thought of Puerto Vallarta. I had such a phenomenal experience here in 2019 with @visitpuertovallarta and @enroute_communications - I knew I had to come back. 
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Thankfully, @villapremiere agreed to host me and I feel so beyond lucky. This place is pure magic. Head over to my stories for all the highlights over the next few days! 
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Birthday mood 🎉. . This might be the first time Birthday mood 🎉.
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This might be the first time I ever posted about my birthday on Instagram mostly because I’m not one to announce things like that. I’ve always felt uncomfortable receiving compliments. But this year, I feel so overwhelmingly happy that I wanted to share why.
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In my early 30s, I dreaded getting older. Now, I honor each passing year and make an effort to do something special for myself (more on that later this week). 
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The older I get, the more I feel confident in who I am. I feel so blessed to have the life I created and the support of the people who have stuck by me over the years. Here’s to celebrating one more trip around the sun.  #itsmybirthday #birthdaygirl #capricorn 
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