16
Submitted by Kim D.
"This is my favorite Cucidati recipe!!! These cookies are a little time consuming, but well worth the effort! It wouldn't be Christmas in our house without them. I make them every year, often doubling the recipe! I can't remember how many cookies this recipe makes, and often they disappear before I can start counting! (Prep time includes chilling time)"
photo by HeatherFeather 
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 18
- Yields:
-
36 cookies
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ingredients
-
Cookie Dough
- 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 cup sugar
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1⁄2 cup milk
-
Filling
- 1 cup dried fig
- 1 cup dried dates, pitted
- 3⁄4 cup raisins
- 1⁄4 cup honey
- 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1⁄4 cup orange marmalade
- 1⁄2 cup walnuts, chopped
-
Icing
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- water or milk
- colored sprinkles
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directions
- For cookie dough, sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.
- Add sugar and stir well.
- Cut in the shortening with a fork or pastry blender and work the mixture until it looks like corn meal.
- In a bowl, beat egg, vanilla and milk together.
- Add egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes until well blended; dough will be soft.
- (The original recipe says to knead the mixture for 5 minutes on a floured surface, but I find my Kitchen-Aid works great for this step!) Divide the dough into four pieces and wrap each piece with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate dough for 45 minutes.
- To make the filling, grind figs, dates and raisins in a food processor until coarse.
- (If you don't have a food processor, you can chop by hand until coarse) Place chopped figs, dates and raisins in a bowl.
- Add remaining filling ingredients and mix well.
- (Mixture will be thick) Set aside mixture.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Work with one piece of dough at a time, leaving the other pieces of dough in the refrigerator until needed.
- On a floured surface (I often use confectioner's sugar for rolling my dough), roll the dough to a 12-inch square.
- Cut dough into 2X3-inch rectangles.
- Spoon about 1 teaspoon of filling onto each rectangle.
- Carefully fold the long edges over to meet in the center and pinch to seal seam.
- Place each cookie, seam side down, on a baking sheet, making sure you leave at least 1-2 inches between each cookie.
- Make 2 or 3 diagonal slits on the top of each cookie with a sharp knife.
- Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until cookies are golden in color.
- Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
- For icing, place confectioner's sugar in a bowl.
- Add just a little water or milk, until you get a smooth consistency- but not runny!
- Ice the tops of each cookie and sprinkle with colored sprinkle.
- Let icing dry completely before stacking!
- Store in air-tight containers up to 2 weeks.
Questions & Replies
-
Can I freeze before cooking? Lizzy
dmerc50
-
I'm makeing cucidatis and my dough is dry and craking when I roll them. Any one know what I can do to soften the dough.
Bob C.
-
Making cucidatis my dough is dry and cracks when I roll it what can id
Bob C.
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Reviews
-
My Aunt used to make these for our Holiday treats. We loved them. She did not ice them but she did cut "S" shaped cuts in the dough instead of just slits. This gave them a fancy look when cooked.
kerrygmo
-
I make these cookies every holiday... I use the premade Pillsbury Sugar cookie dough, I roll it out in a rectangle and put the filling in the middle then close it up so it's a long log, I bake on parchment paper for about 20 minutes or until a light golden brown,, frost when cool and slice Easier for me
See AlsoGluten Free Rolls RecipeRhonda W.
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This was a great recipe. It took me a couple of tries to get the sizing right, but because the dough is divided up and stays in the fridge, it was easy to take my time with trial and error. My Italian family loved the cookies at Christmas time.
Meghan E.
-
Positively superb recipe!!!! I always bought these at the italian speciality store and never thought I could make them myself! They came out perfect on first attempt. The dough rolled easily after spreading powdered sugar on my board. The filling was delicious. I did not have orange marmalade so used my home made peach jam in place and they were still delcious. I also used orange rind in the filling. They will be the only christmas cookie I make from now on. They were a little labor intensive, but well worth the work!!! Now that I know how to make them would probably make the filling one night and the dough another day just to break it up,but the dough mixed easily for me. It was a chore getting the figs to chop even in my new food processor. I would advise cutting the figs into much smaller pieces before putting in food processor. Try this recipe -- you won't be disappointed.<br/>thanks for sharing.
rsp2749
-
I would give 10 stars if I could! As stated by another review, these are time consuming but well worth it. All the flavors are so complex and better than any cucidati I have had from any italian bakery. I will make these yearly at Christmas from now on! Great italian recipe!
denisemcrews
see 11 more reviews
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Tweaks
-
Great recipe I found that the cook time is more like 25 minutes. Also, if you have a bamboo sushi roller lying around, it's very helpful for creating the log. Just roll out the dough on parchment paper. Put the filling in and then slip the bamboo roller on the backside of the paper.
Jason M.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Kim D.
Houston, 0
- 122 Followers
- 292 Recipes
- 37 Tweaks
<p><br /><br />The picture is of me and my husband at the Grand Canyon - November 2008. <br /><br />I've just started a food blog and would love for those interested in cooking and recipes to check it out. You can follow my food journey at <a href=http://onecookbookatathyme.wordpress.com/>http://onecookbookatathyme.wordpress.com/</a></p><p>Cooking for family and friends is one of my favorite things to do. I spend most of my free time in the kitchen, either checking out Recipezaar or experimenting with a newly found recipe. <br /><br />My DH and I are both from Texas and we both come from Italian families. Anyone who stops by my house should be prepared to eat!!! I'm always forcing friends and family to try whatever it is that just came out of the oven. I know that is a horrible habit but I can't break it... I think it must be the Italian in me! 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