Cucidati – Italian Fig Cookies
Total Time
2 hrs
Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
12 mins
Rating
4.49 out of 5 stars
(31)
Ingredients
48 servings
- Dough
- 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ tablespoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 1 cup (205 g) vegetable shortening
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (122 ml) milk
- Filling
- 1 cup (149 g) dried figs
- 1 cup (147 g) dried dates, pitted
- ¾ cup (108.75 g) raisins
- ½ cup (58.5 g) walnuts, chopped or ground in food processor
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup (84.75 ml) honey
- ¼ cup (80 g) orange marmalade
- Icing
- 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons milk, approximately
- Colored sprinkles, optional
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Preparation
Step 1
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the sugar and combine well.
Step 2
Cut in the shortening with a fork or pastry blender and work the mixture until it looks like cornmeal.
Step 3
In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, vanilla, and milk.
Step 4
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix with an electric mixer for a full 3 minutes. Dough will be soft.
Step 5
Remove the dough from the mixer and knead by hand for 5 minutes.
Step 6
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, wrap each with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
Step 7
To make the filling, grind figs, dates, and raisins in a food processor until coarse.
Step 8
Place fig, date, and raisin mixture in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Mixture will be thick. Set aside.
Step 9
Preheat oven to 375° and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Step 10
Work with one piece of dough at a time, leaving the remaining pieces in the refrigerator until needed. On a floured surface roll the dough into a 12-inch square. Cut dough into 2x3-inch rectangles. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of filling into the middle of each rectangle. Carefully fold the short edges over to meet in the center and pinch to seal. Seal the sides as well.
Step 11
Place each cookie, seam-side down, on a baking sheet, leaving 1-2 inches between each cookie.
Step 12
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies are golden in color.
Step 13
Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cool completely before icing.
Step 14
For the icing, mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to achieve the desired consistency. You'll want the icing to be thick enough not to be runny, but still easily spreadable. Ice the tops of the cookies and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Let the icing set completely before storing in an airtight container.
Step 15
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Chef's notes
These cookies are slightly time consuming but totally worth the effort. The dough is wonderfully tender and more of a 'short' dough, which makes it melt in your mouth.
If you have a food processor, definitely use it for processing both the walnuts as well as the figs/dates/raisins mixture. If you don’t have one, just chop as finely as possible.
As far as shaping and filling the cookies, the instructions provided will yield a short rectangle 'pillow' shape, but experimenting with different sizes and shapes is encouraged.
