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    Home » Seasonal recipes » Holiday Recipes » Christmas recipes

    Cucidati (Italian fig cookies)

    November 9, 2020 by Caroline's Cooking

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    These cucidati have a delicious fruit filling wrapped in a buttery cookie with a flourish of lemon frosting and sprinkles on top. It's no wonder these Italian fig cookies are a favorite for Christmas and special occasions. #cookie #italian #siciliancookie #figcookie #christmas #baking

    These cucidati have a delicious fruit filling wrapped in a buttery cookie with a flourish of lemon frosting and sprinkles on top. It's no wonder these Italian fig cookies are a favorite for Christmas and special occasions.

    Jump to Recipe
    cucidati Italian fig cookies on plate with more on rack behind

    This post may contain affiliate links, where we earn from qualifying purchases. See more details in the policy page.

    While I didn't grow up with the tradition, I have made a point of trying to learn about different traditional Christmas cookies as we head into the season. Funnily enough, the kids are very much on board.

    Not only do we get to enjoy some tasty treats, but it's interesting too. I love reading about some lovely traditions and trying new flavor combinations. These tasty bites are a perfect example.

    cucidati Italian fig cookies close up

    Where are cucidati from?

    As with many cookies that have long traditions, the exact origin is a little unclear. However most agree that these cookies are originally from Sicily. You will also find them in the Southern mainland of Italy and amongst Italian immigrants elsewhere.

    I love the fact that as I was reading about them, most people with a Sicilian link in their family had warm stories of making these. Often they got together as a family to make large batches for Christmas or St Joseph's Day.

    log of filling on rectangle of pastry before rolling up

    The ingredients in these cookies very much reflect Sicily's history. The Greeks introduced figs and grapes, Arabs brought sugar and almonds. Many believe these were probably first made after the Arabs occupation in the 9th-10th centuries.

    If you are interested, this article is an interesting read on the cookies' history and this article on Sicilian food history more generally.

    formed cucidati ready to bake

    Cucidati variations

    The name can vary (also called buccellati and spelled cuccidati) and the ingredients can be slightly different from town to town within Sicily. Some make them as small rolls, as I have here. Others form little 'bracelets' ('cucidati' means 'little bracelet' in Sicilian) by making little cuts on one side and curving them open.

    Most at least include dried figs, usually dates and raisins and in most cases nuts in the filling. Then all have a buttery shortbread-like pastry on the outside.

    I have drawn on a few recipes in making these, to try to be as true as possible, including this one from Proud Italian Cook and this from Nonna Box. You can scale the recipe up for a larger batch, as suits, but this gave a nice amount for us.

    cooked cookies cooling on rack

    Tips for making these cookies

    • Make the pastry ahead of time to make sure it chills and firms up.
    • Let the food processor do the work in chopping and mixing (though remember to trim the tips off the figs).
    • Flour your work surface well when rolling the dough so your cookies don't stick too much.
    • Make two smaller rather than one big long roll to make things easier.
    • Wait until the cookies are completely cool before adding the glaze.
    • You can either drizzle/brush on the glaze or turn and dip them. If you dip, you will need extra glaze.
    • Only glaze a couple at a time before adding the sprinkles, or they won't stick properly.
    • Add the sprinkles over a baking sheet to collect any that roll off.
    adding frosting and sprinkles to cucidati cookies

    These might seem like a few things to keep in mind, and it may seem like a few ingredients and steps, but honestly, these are easier than you might think.

    Watch the video to see how they come together!

    These cucidati cookies are sometimes compared to a fig Newton, but they are really so much better. The filling is a deliciously moist and flavorful mix, the outside is crumbly and buttery. And that's before I even mention the lovely lemon glaze and sprinkles which draw your eyes in. These are one truly special cookie, so definitely give them a try soon.

    cucidati Italian fig cookies on plate

    Try these other favorite cookies:

    • Alfajores (dulce de leche sandwich cookies)
    • Brunkager (Danish spiced cookies)
    • Basler brunsli (Swiss chocolate almond cookies)
    • Vanillekipferl (German vanilla shortbread-like cookies)
    • Pignoli (pine nut almond cookies)
    • Plus get more Holiday recipes (cookies, drinks and more) and Italian recipes in the archives.
    plate of cucidati cookies with coffee cups to side
    Print Recipe
    4.78 from 9 votes

    Cucidati (Italian fig cookies)

    These delicious cookies are a tasty mix of sweet, fruity filling, buttery cookie outside and a lovely lemon frosting on top.
    Prep Time40 mins
    Cook Time15 mins
    Total Time55 mins
    Course: Snack
    Cuisine: Italian
    Servings: 14 (approx)
    Calories: 153kcal
    Author: Caroline's Cooking
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    Ingredients

    For cookie dough

    • 1 cup all purpose flour 140g plain flour
    • 3 tablespoon sugar
    • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 2 oz unsalted butter 55g (½ stick)
    • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 egg
    • 1 tablespoon milk

    For filling

    • ½ cup dried figs 100g/3 ½oz
    • ¼ cup dates 33g
    • ¼ cup raisins 40g
    • 2 tablespoon blanched almonds 15g (I used slivered, but whole, chopped/flaked also good)
    • 1 tablespoon chocolate chips 12g
    • 1 ½ tablespoon honey
    • 2 tablespoon marmalade or apricot preserves
    • 1 tablespoon brandy or whiskey, marsala
    • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

    To top

    • ¼ cup confectioner's sugar 28g icing sugar
    • ½ tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 tablespoon nonpareils hundreds and thousands (small round sprinkles)

    Instructions

    Preparing the cookie dough (do ahead)

    • Put 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.

    Making the 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 a relatively smooth paste forms, scraping down and pulsing slightly more as needed.

    Forming and cooking cookies

    • 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.
    • 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 to cool a couple minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

    To finish

    • 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.

    Video

    Notes

    You will likely get between 12 and 16 cookies, depending on exactly how long your piece of dough is, the size you cut them etc. You don't need to be too precise but they will look better to be relatively even in size. Make sure the knife you use to cut them is sharp and, if needed, clean as you go to save getting too much filling on the dough.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 153kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 51mg | Potassium: 119mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 118IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

    I'd recommend using a Silicone Baking Mat on top of a Half Baking Sheet to make these. (affiliate links)

    See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

    Remember to pin for later!

    These cucidati have a delicious fruit filling wrapped in a buttery cookie with a flourish of lemon frosting and sprinkles on top. It's no wonder these Italian fig cookies are a favorite for Christmas and special occasions. #cookie #italian #siciliancookie #figcookie #christmas #baking
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    1. Jane

      January 25, 2023 at 10:03 am

      5 stars
      Great cookies. Fun to make. Could you make a small pie with the leftover filling? I made a little too much. Thanks for the great recipie.

      Reply
      • Caroline's Cooking

        January 25, 2023 at 11:07 am

        So glad to hear you enjoyed them! I haven't tried making a small pie with leftover filling, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work.

        Reply
    2. Sean Nicolello

      January 08, 2023 at 12:59 pm

      5 stars
      Nice job! For me, it wasn’t Christmas until my Nona made Cucidati cookies. She made them in the bracelet shape. Grew her own figs for these cookies. Has the figs dropped from the trees she collected them for later use @ Christmas. Yum Yum.

      Reply
      • Caroline's Cooking

        January 09, 2023 at 10:23 pm

        Those sound like wonderful memories. How wonderful that she had a fig tree - I wish our climate suited it as I love the smell (as well as the figs, of course).

        Reply
    3. Judy

      December 25, 2022 at 5:05 pm

      5 stars
      My grandmother made them using a circle then folding over for half
      Round. We didnt have glaze. She put maple frosting on top. Boy they were delicious. Maplene was her extract used.

      Love these.p

      Reply
      • Caroline's Cooking

        December 25, 2022 at 7:46 pm

        Maple glaze sounds tasty, too! Though I do really like the slight tartness of the lemon as a contrast to the sweet. Delicious cookies either way, for sure.

        Reply
    4. Jonidee

      December 15, 2022 at 6:42 pm

      I must have looked at 10 different recipes for these cookies and liked yours using chocolate, honey & brandy & made them today - awesome! I remember as a teenager someone always bringing these to my Italian-but-not-Sicilian grandmother’s house at Christmas Thanks for sharing, they really are delicious 😉

      Reply
      • Caroline's Cooking

        December 15, 2022 at 9:28 pm

        I'm so glad you found the recipe, then, and sounds like they brought back delicious memories! They are one of my favorites as well.

        Reply
    5. Fredrick Gendall

      December 02, 2022 at 3:24 am

      5 stars
      Made the fig cookies excellent recipe all my friends loved them now I make them every week . Thanks Fredrick

      Reply
      • Caroline's Cooking

        December 02, 2022 at 1:51 pm

        I am so glad to hear that they went down well and that you continue to enjoy them!

        Reply
    6. Terry

      November 04, 2022 at 7:41 am

      Can l use other fillings for the cookie

      Reply
      • Caroline's Cooking

        November 04, 2022 at 9:11 am

        This is the traditional filling, but I imagine you could try others - just I'd say make sure it's not too liquid or it won't hold in there.

        Reply
    7. Kalyn

      March 25, 2022 at 9:12 am

      About to try this recipe for the first time for a Sicilian celebration in my town! Question - is the butter in the dough cold or room temp when added to the food processor?

      Reply
      • Caroline's Cooking

        March 25, 2022 at 11:56 am

        I generally use cold, and think it is slightly better, but it doesn't matter too much since you will be chilling the dough after. Hope you enjoy!

        Reply
    8. Nadia

      December 27, 2021 at 5:37 pm

      I made these for Christmas. Thank you for your recipe. It is a keeper. Absolutely delicious! Made two batches. Everyone enjoyed them. Will definitely make them again next Christmas.

      Reply
      • Caroline's Cooking

        December 27, 2021 at 8:03 pm

        That's wonderful to hear!

        Reply
    9. Christine Molinari

      December 23, 2021 at 6:20 pm

      3 stars
      Thank you for a very traditional Italian cookie. Definitely an acquired taste. If you were expecting sweet this is not the cookie to make. I put the filled "log" in the freezer for an hour to firm up before slicing and baking.

      Reply
      • Caroline's Cooking

        December 23, 2021 at 8:03 pm

        You're welcome! Interesting, I find these pretty sweet as the fruits are naturally sweet, but I guess it depends what you are used to and it is certainly a different type of sweet from, say, a sugar cookie. And yes, chilling or freezing can help the log firm up, I would just say not too long or it can be too hard to cut easily.

        Reply
    10. Lois

      January 26, 2021 at 11:09 am

      5 stars
      These are the very best cookies I have ever made. Was searching for an authentic Cucidati recipe and finally found a keeper. I was never able to get the recipe from my husband's aunt. The dough and filling are superb. Measurements spot on. Made them for Christmas and again today just because. Thank you for a great recipe!

      Reply
      • Caroline's Cooking

        January 26, 2021 at 6:34 pm

        I'm so glad to hear that! I agree they are truly delicious cookies.

        Reply
    11. Lisa

      November 11, 2020 at 3:04 pm

      5 stars
      I have to make these cookies, Caroline! They're so festive looking. I love the sprinkles, but that fig filling is the bomb! Love the pastry too!

      Reply
      • Caroline's Cooking

        November 11, 2020 at 7:51 pm

        Thanks, they are such a delicious combination! The filling has lots of tasty flavor and the pastry pairs so well. Enjoy!

        Reply
        • Natala Assa

          September 27, 2021 at 12:15 am

          Can you use fresh figs instead of dried?

          Reply
          • Caroline's Cooking

            September 27, 2021 at 6:52 am

            I haven't tried but it may well work. The only things are I'd be a little worried the mixture will be too wet and might run during cooking. Also, fresh figs tend to have a slightly more delicate flavor and actually the slightly stronger dried fig flavor is better here.

            Reply
    12. Marlynn

      November 10, 2020 at 6:11 pm

      5 stars
      These are the most adorable fig cookies I have ever seen! So yummy, and easier to make than I thought they would be!

      Reply
      • Caroline's Cooking

        November 10, 2020 at 7:03 pm

        Thank you! And yes, really not that difficult and so worth making.

        Reply
    13. Elaine

      November 09, 2020 at 6:53 pm

      5 stars
      I've never tried cookies like this, which makes me really excited about this recipe. Yum!

      Reply
      • Caroline's Cooking

        November 10, 2020 at 7:01 pm

        They are definitely a little unusual but really tasty - hope you enjoy!

        Reply
        • Usha

          September 02, 2021 at 6:40 am

          Any substitute for egg?

          Reply
          • Caroline's Cooking

            September 02, 2021 at 7:50 am

            There are a few things you can generally use as egg substitutes like flaxseed meal, but I am not sure they would necessarily work here since the texture is a bit different - these should be pretty smooth. Also, it's a mixture of richness and texture it's adding here. Possibly, using a little more butter and a little more milk may work to be relatively close, but I'm afraid I can't say for sure. I would try the dough as written without the egg, see how soft/crumbly it is, and add a little from there as needed.

            Reply
        • lisa

          December 19, 2021 at 11:49 am

          any substitute for the alcohol

          Reply
          • Caroline's Cooking

            December 19, 2021 at 12:12 pm

            I'd suggest maybe apple juice would be a good alternative.

            Reply

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