Cucidati
Submitted by carolann
Cucidati, the traditional Sicilian Christmas fig cookies, with a rich filling of figs, raisins, nuts, chocolate and rum wrapped in tender pastry, shaped into slashed horseshoes and dusted with sugar.
YIELD
1 batchPREP
40 minCOOK
30 minREADY
1 hrsCucidati are the Sicilian fig cookies that signal Christmas in Italian American kitchens, the ones nonna makes by the tin and guards fiercely. Behind the powdered-sugar dusting hides a filling that’s almost absurdly rich: dried figs softened and ground with raisins, currants, candied orange peel, toasted almonds and pine nuts, bittersweet chocolate, apricot jam, dark rum, and warm spice.
Make that filling ahead. A day or three in the fridge lets the flavors marry into something deep and jammy. The dough is a tender, lard-enriched pastry, barely sweet, there mostly to cradle all that fruit.
The shaping is the fun, fiddly part. Pipe the filling down a rope of dough, seal it seam-side down, then slash the tops on the diagonal and gently twist so the cuts open to show the filling within.
Curve each one into a little horseshoe, brush with egg wash for shine, and bake just to light gold. A snowfall of confectioner’s sugar finishes them, and they keep beautifully in tins between sheets of wax paper.
Pro Tips
- Steep the dried figs in boiling water until plump, so the filling grinds smooth instead of tough and stringy.
- Make the filling up to three days ahead. Resting deepens the flavor noticeably.
- Keep the dough chilled and workable. If it warms and turns sticky, pop it back in the fridge.
- Don’t overbake. Pull them at light gold so they stay tender, not hard.
Variations
- Drizzle with a simple icing and rainbow nonpareils instead of powdered sugar, the bakery-style finish.
- Swap the rum for orange liqueur, or skip the booze entirely.
- Add chopped dates or walnuts to the filling to suit your taste.
Ingredients
Directions
Stem the figs and quarter them.
Place in a bowl and cover with boiling water; steep 10 minutes.
Drain and chop coarsely in the food processor.
Combine with remaining ingredients.
To prepare in advance, cover tightly with plastic wrap and keep at a cool room temperature or in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Combine the flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl and stir to mix.
Rub in the lard or butter finely, leaving the mixture powdery.
Beat the eggs and milk to combine in a small bowl and stir into the flour mixture to form a dough.
Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead lightly a few times.
Wrap the dough in plastic and chill.
Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each into a cylinder about 12 inches long.
Flour the surface and the dough lightly and roll it into a rectangle about 14 inches long and 3 inches wide.
Place a line of the filling down the center of each rectangle, using 1/12 of the filling for each piece of dough.
Bring up the dough around the filling and pinch to seal.
Turn the filled sausage of dough over so that the seam is on the bottom and cut it into 3½- to 4-inch lengths.
Using a sharp paring knife or single-edge razor blade, make a series of diagonal slashes in the top of each little sausage.
Pull and twist gently, holding the sausage at each end to open the slashes.
Transfer the Cucidati as they are formed to paper- lined cookie sheets, curving them into wide horseshoe shapes.
Make an egg wash by beating the egg and salt together with a fork until it is loose.
Paint each shape with the egg wash.
Bake the Cucidati in a preheated 350℉ (180℃) F oven about 20 minutes, or until they are a light golden color.
Cool, dust with confectioners’ sugar and store the Cucidati in tins, between layers of wax paper.
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