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.
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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 festive season. Funnily enough, the kids are very much on board with having a few more cookies around!
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 that are now a firm favorite.
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.
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.
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.
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. You can also roll out on a silicone mat to help lift the dough to roll it.
- 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.
Top tip: chill the dough
Chilling the cookie dough is well worth allowing time for here as it makes it easier to work with in so many ways. It will be less sticky and so roll more easily and evenly.
If it's too firm after chilling, just give it a few minutes at room temperature or warm with your hands slightly. Try not to over-handle the dough to save it getting sticky - you can use the tip of a knife to help seal the pastry together, for example.
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.
These cucidati cookies are sometimes compared to a fig Newton, but they have a bit more complex flavors and feel more special. 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 delicious cookie, so definitely give them a try soon.
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.
Cucidati (Italian fig cookies)
Ingredients
For cookie dough
- 1 cup all purpose flour plain flour
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 oz unsalted butter (2oz is ½ stick)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
For filling
- ½ cup dried figs (½ cup is approx 3 ½oz)
- ¼ cup dates
- ¼ cup raisins
- 2 tablespoon blanched almonds (I used slivered, but whole, chopped/flaked also good)
- 1 tablespoon chocolate chips
- 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 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 20 minutes or so before rolling so it is not too cold.
Making the filling
- Remove the tough stem from the figs 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, 25 x 10cm). 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 and is relatively even all along.
- Roll over one side of the dough and keep rolling so it goes all the way round 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
Nutrition
I'd recommend using a Silicone Baking Mat on top of a Half Baking Sheet to make these. (affiliate links)
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Sandie says
Can they be frozen?
Caroline's Cooking says
I admit I haven't tried but I would say as long as you freeze before icing and in a single layer, before transferring to a sealed container or freezer bag, it should work fine. Then ice once they are fully defrosted.
Tina says
Caroline, my 99-year old Italian mother has requested cookies and this recipe looks perfect! Can you tell me approximately how much fig filling goes into each roll? I made fig preserves and am going to add some of your ingredients to thicken it.
Caroline's Cooking says
I hope you enjoy! So as you'll see in the recipe, I always make it as a log then cut into the individual cookies, but if you add up the filling ingredients, then divide by the recipe yield, you get approximately 1 1/4 cups of filling between 14 cookies, so that would be a little under 1 1/2 tablespoons per cookie. But that's definitely approximate - some of the fruits likely pack down a bit as you blend them so it may be a little less.
Mary says
Made these today for tomorrow. I had to sneak one and they were delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Caroline's Cooking says
Always worth giving them a little test 🙂 So glad you enjoyed!
linda says
what can i use instead of liquor in this fig cookie reciepe
Caroline's Cooking says
You can just skip it, or if you feel the mixture is not moist enough, then add up to the equivalent amount of fruit just instead eg apple or orange juice which would pair pretty well flavor-wise.
Mrs says
Cuccidati is the correct spelling
Caroline's Cooking says
Indeed, I know that's the proper Italian spelling, though it seems it is generally written with one "c" when translated to English, for whatever reason, and that seems to be what is more widely used/searched for hence I titled it that way, but appreciate the comment!
Denise says
Can you use just fig
Caroline's Cooking says
I think you could, I would just note that figs are more seedy than the other fruits, so it will impact the texture.
Sarah says
Can fig jam with added nuts be used?
Caroline's Cooking says
So I think as a base it could work, but you may want to add a little more to it. Fig jam is generally sweetened quite a lot and is probably not as thick as the mixture you would make here so may run. But you could maybe try the jam blended with some raisins and nuts to get a slightly thicker, less sweet mixture.
Mrs says
Typo?
It’s Cuccidati!
Caroline's Cooking says
You know, I always thought it should be spelled that way, but pretty much every recipe I saw used one c and so I second-guessed myself and followed, but agree cuccidati does seem the proper Italian spelling.
Jane says
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.
Caroline's Cooking says
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.
Linda says
My family made them in semi circles about four inches long. Once they made mini turnovers. Frost the same.
Caroline's Cooking says
Those sound great, too! Definitely come in a few different forms.
Sean Nicolello says
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.
Caroline's Cooking says
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).
Judy says
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
Caroline's Cooking says
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.
Jonidee says
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 😉
Caroline's Cooking says
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.
Fredrick Gendall says
Made the fig cookies excellent recipe all my friends loved them now I make them every week . Thanks Fredrick
Caroline's Cooking says
I am so glad to hear that they went down well and that you continue to enjoy them!
Terry says
Can l use other fillings for the cookie
Caroline's Cooking says
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.
Kalyn says
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?
Caroline's Cooking says
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!
Nadia says
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.
Caroline's Cooking says
That's wonderful to hear!
Christine Molinari says
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.
Caroline's Cooking says
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.
lisa says
any substitute for the alcohol
Caroline's Cooking says
I'd suggest maybe apple juice would be a good alternative.
Maryann Spasopoulos says
Hi Caroline,
Any suggestion if you cant find the Plugrá Block butter?
Caroline's Cooking says
I wouldn't necessarily say you need a specific brand, just a good quality butter and ones with less water tend to work best.
Usha says
Any substitute for egg?
Caroline's Cooking says
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.
Lois says
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!
Caroline's Cooking says
I'm so glad to hear that! I agree they are truly delicious cookies.
Lisa says
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!
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks, they are such a delicious combination! The filling has lots of tasty flavor and the pastry pairs so well. Enjoy!
Natala Assa says
Can you use fresh figs instead of dried?
Caroline's Cooking says
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.
Marlynn says
These are the most adorable fig cookies I have ever seen! So yummy, and easier to make than I thought they would be!
Caroline's Cooking says
Thank you! And yes, really not that difficult and so worth making.