A tutorial on how to make absolutely the best fig cookie from my Sicilian mother in law. Now it doesn’t get any more Italian than that.

These cookies are a must have addition to your holiday cookie tray. Although they take a very long time to make, they are so worth it!

This recipe can be done in stages, the filling one day, making the dough and cooking the cookies the next day. Then another day you can frost them and top each one with your favorite sprinkles. It certainly makes it a lot easier on the cook. It averages me approximately 8 hours to do them, of course I do a double batch which always takes a long time.

"The Ingredients"

"The Filling"

Start with your filling first, otherwise your dough will get too dry.
Ingredients: FILLING
1 c. dried figs
½ c. dried dates, pitted
½ c. raisins
¾ c. chopped almonds
¾ c. chopped walnuts
¼ c. chocolate chips
¾ c. honey
¼ c. brandy
½ c. strawberry jam
1 ½ tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 T. cinnamon
½ tsp. cloves
½ tsp. nutmeg

1- If you have whole figs like I do here, be sure to cut out the hard stem in the center of the fig. Then chop your figs into smaller chunks so they will grind easier for you.

2- Grind together the chopped figs, dates, chopped orange, crushed pineapple and raisins if you are adding them. The juice from the orange and pineapple help to lubricate the hard figs and dates as they go through the grinder. Now, run it all through the grinder again, this will make sure that the mix is ground fine enough.

3- Add your finely chopped almonds and walnuts to the date mixture along with the spices, honey, brandy, strawberry jam and chocolate chips if you desire. Your mixture should be just moist but thick enough to hold its shape when spooned onto the dough.

4- You can stop here at this point, cover your filling and refrigerate until you’re ready to do the second stage, making the dough!

"The Dough"

Ingredients: DOUGH
4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1 ½ T. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 c. butter 2 sticks cut into cubes)
2 large egg
½ c. milk or cream
1 T. vanilla

1- Cream together your butter, sugar, milk, eggs and vanilla, beating until creamy.

2- Sift together your flour, salt and baking powder. I do mine twice through the sifter to make sure the baking powder is distributed evenly.

3- Slowly add your butter mixture to the flour stirring well. It will be somewhat sticky to work with.

4- Flour your board and rolling pin very well so the dough does not stick.

5- Take a good handful of dough and form a roll with it in your hands, then roll it gently on the floured board to elongate the dough. Try to keep it approximately 1 ½” – 2” in diameter, as you will need it large enough to flatten into a long rectangle about 4” wide.

6- Roll your dough into a rectangle until it is about ¼” thick. It is time to spoon the filling down the center of the dough, leaving room enough so you can lift the edge to roll the dough over the filling. Roll carefully covering the entire filling with the dough, continue until you meet the opposite edge. You should now have a good sized roll ready for cutting.

7- Carefully slice your cookie roll diagonally and place on an un-greased cookie sheet leaving enough room between them.

8- Place into a preheated oven at 375 F or 190 C and bake for 12-15 minutes until done. They should be slightly brown, you do not want to over cook them, so watch them closely at the 12 minute mark.

9-Remove the Cucidati cookies to a wire rack to cool. You can choose to frost your cookies the following day, just cover them with a clean, dry dish towel until you’re ready.

"Cooling and drying on a rack"

"The Icing"

Frost with the icing: Mix 1 c. powdered confectionery sugar, 1/4 tsp. vanilla & enough milk (about 1 T.) to make of spreading consistency. Sprinkle the tops when still wet with sprinkles. Let dry thoroughly. Enjoy!!!!

"Frosting & Sprinkles"

"Merry Christmas"

Thank you for stopping by my post, I hope you enjoyed it.

Until next time, this is Sunscape
Sun. Scape. Ing your day

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