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Cucidati (Italian Fig Cookies)

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Cucidati (Italian Fig Cookies)
 
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This recipe is adapted from Nick Malgieri. I’ve taken some liberties with the filling; so if you’d like a more traditional recipe, see this. If your dried figs are hard, place them in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring them to a boil. Drain the figs and allow them to cool before proceeding. And finally, if you want to ice your cucidati, try this recipe.
by:
Serves: Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Ingredients
For the dough:
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
  • 2 large eggs
For the fig filling:
  • 12 ounces (about 2 cups) dried Calimyrna figs, stemmed and diced
  • ½ cup raisins
  • ⅓ cup whole almonds, chopped and lightly toasted
  • ⅓ cup apricot preserves
  • 3 tablespoons juice and 1 tablespoon zest from an orange
  • 1 teaspoon instant espresso coffee granules
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon very finely minced fresh rosemary
  • Heaping ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • Egg Wash: 1 large egg, well beaten with 1 pinch salt
Instructions
  1. For the dough: Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter; pulse repeatedly until it is finely incorporated. Add eggs; continue to pulse until dough forms a rough ball. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it lightly to bring it together. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate while preparing the filling.
  2. For the filling: Toss figs with remaining filling ingredients in a medium bowl. Transfer to the work bowl of a food processor and pulse to grind to almost paste consistency. Return filling to mixing bowl.
  3. When ready to bake, adjust oven racks to upper and lower-middle positions and heat to 350 degrees.
  4. Place dough on a floured surface, knead until malleable, and then roll into a cylinder, cut it into 6 equal pieces. Working one at a time on a floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a 3-inch by 12-inch rectangle. Brush with egg wash and evenly distribute a scant ⅓ cup of filling down the middle of the dough. Bring dough around filling to enclose it, then press to firmly seal. Roll filled cylinder to 15 inches, then cut it into 1½ -inch lengths. Arrange on parchment-lined cookie sheets and brush each with the egg wash.
  5. Repeat with remaining dough and filing. Bake the cookies until light golden, about 20 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool. (Can be stored in an air-tight container up to 2 weeks.)

About Sharon Damelio

I love to cook and to write–both of which I learned at my parents’ elbows. After graduating from college, I worked at Fine Cooking magazine as the Assistant Web Editor. After two glorious years there, I returned to graduate school and now work at WhyHunger, an NYC-based nonprofit that is building a movement to end hunger and increase access to fresh, nutritious food. In the kitchen, I fancy myself the culinary version of an armchair-traveler, but I’m also a devoted baker. Some days, when work is overwhelming and the world seems bleak, methodically creating a batch of bread, cookies, or scones is all the relaxation I need.

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