Cucidati (Italian Fig Cookies)

What are Cucidati?

Cucidati (pronounced coo-chee-dah-tee) are also known as Italian fig cookies, Sicilian fig cookies, or when circular-shaped, buccellati ('little bracelets'). At their base, a fig mixture is surrounded by pastry dough and baked, with the little bites covered in glaze and topped with rainbow sprinkles.

Something I love about cucidati is that they're a rustic kind of cookie. My favorite kind! No pressure to pipe decorative accents or be precise with royal icing. I just don't have the patience or artistic skill for that.

A layer of icing coats the tops of these Italian fig cookies, which not only covers any kind of dough imperfection but allows the rainbow nonpareils to stick. 

In looks and in taste, cucidati are like an upscale Fig Newton. Sweet but not too sweet. Flavored with citrus, spice, and a tiny bite from the brandy, they straddle the line between being down-home but sophisticated at the same time. The filling is just moist enough where it doesn't dry out while they bake, but holds its shape and doesn't mush out the sides, either. The dough isn't the prettiest, but it's very tender without being too dry or too crumbly and soft.

They're a special holiday treat the whole family looks forward to. Miss the Christmas baking window for these? Cucidati are also on the menu for St. Joseph's Day celebrations in March (if you can look beyond the zeppole!).

Variations

There are many renditions of Italian fig cookies out there. Some use all figs, some combine in dates and/or raisins. Some add orange, some add lemon. Some use nuts, some don't have nuts. Some add chocolate, some don't. Some are curved with dough cut-outs, some are in rings, some are in little bites.

Isn't this the case with many Italian cookie recipes, or rather, so many Italian recipes in general? If we're lucky enough, we get to hold a certain variation near and dear to our hearts that was passed down from older generations.

All this to say, this spin on cucidati was devised in conjunction with my mom in the interest of recreating my great aunt's Italian fig cookies. We're a fig-and-date, orange, nuts, no-chocolate kind of family. But by all means, play around with the filling and add some chocolate, use some raisins, swap in lemon zest, etc. if that's how you and yours like them. No family recipe is ever 'wrong'.

Cucidati Filling Ingredients

• Dried Figs: At least at my grocery store, dried figs can be found on a stand in the produce section, not beside other dried fruits like raisins and dates.
• Dried Dates: These are plain pitted dates - no need for the larger Medjool variety. They're usually in canisters or large packets near the raisins.
• Honey: Boosts the dried fruit sweetness with a perfectly complementary flavor.
• Brandy: Please, nothing top-shelf! The kind I use is nothing special and only gets dusted off for vin brulé, apple cider sangria, and cucidati. The brandy adds just a hint along with the other warm flavors. If you'd prefer not to use alcohol, apple juice can work instead.
• Orange: Zest and freshly-squeezed orange juice brightens things up.
• Cinnamon: For warm holiday spice. Love the honey/orange/cinnamon combo.

Cucidati Pastry Ingredients

Pastry and I aren't the best of friends, so I played around with a few different methods of creating this cucidati dough. A lot of OG cucidati recipes use lard, but I wanted to find an alternative.

I was intrigued by a recipe where the dough came together in the food processor with just eggs and milk - no lard/shortening/butter. Tried that and eeesh. Not good (sorry, Lidia). Here's where I landed to balance taste and ease of preparation.

• Shortening: Since shortening is 100% fat, it more closely mimics lard than butter, which is about 80% fat and 20% water content. I use the regular flavor stick version for easy measuring.
• Flour: This recipe has a fair amount of flour (four cups), so being off on your measuring can make a bigger impact. I recommend weighing for the most precision, but a careful spoon-and-level works, too.
• Milk: Use your preferred variety - I usually go with 1-2%.
• Eggs: Really helpful to create a cohesive dough that tastes a bit richer and handles more easily.

Making Italian Fig Cookies

Prepare the Filling - Reconstitute the dried figs and dates in a mixture of honey, brandy, and orange juice by simmering for a few minutes. Once cool, transfer everything to a food processor along with orange zest and cinnamon. Pulse in the walnuts, and you're all set to make cucidati later in the day, or in a few days. It needs freezer (for same day baking) or fridge time (next day) to become nice and chilled so it holds its shape well when you roll it.

Prepare the Pastry Dough - Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, then cut the shortening into the dry ingredients until it forms small crumbly crumbs, as seen here (I continued breaking up the bigger ones after taking this picture).

Work in the milk, eggs, and vanilla extract to form a dough. While you can chill the dough if you're not yet ready to bake these cookies, you can also just roll right on with the recipe. It's not too finicky.

Assembly - Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape, half at a time, then place a log of filling along the bottom edge. Roll the dough up and over the filling to cover it, then slice to separate from the rest of the dough. Pinch the seam and give it a few rolls to flatten the seam out. Continue for the remainder.

Slice using a sharp knife and place, seam side down, onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Italian fig cookies don't grow much at all when they bake, so you can place them fairly close together on the baking sheet. I got through all ninety-some-odd cucidati just using two large rimmed sheets.

Baking & Decorating - All that's left is to bake them (350°F for 18-20 minutes), let cool, then dunk the tops in icing and garnish with nonpareils.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

• My standard disclaimer on rainbow nonpareils: After 2-3 days, the rainbow color can bleed onto the white icing. No impact on taste, but they might not be as picture perfect as they were on the first day. Not a big deal to some but wanted to note this. If making these cookies to go the distance, you can bake them then freeze without the icing, thawing completely and icing them prior to serving. Or you can ice them and use white nonpareils, or omit the sprinkles entirely.
• Measuring flour: If not weighing, do this with the "spoon and level" method. Stir your flour up in its container, then spoon it into the measuring cup. Let it overflow in a big mound and don't pack it down. Use a straight edge (like a knife or the flat handle of your spoon) to level off the top of the measuring cup, then add flour to the recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions