Liliana’s blog is aptly named “My Cookbook Addiction”…it’s like she KNOWS me. Or at the very least has seen my bookshelves!
I was very happy when Liliana agreed to guest post in this year’s Cookie Recipe Advent Calendar and even more excited when she shared this traditional recipe with me.
guest post by Liliana from My Cookbook Addiction
Sicilian Fig Cookies (called cucidati in Sicily) are one of the traditional cookies I make for my family for the holidays. My mother used to reminisce about eating these cookies in Palermo when she was a young girl. My nonna (grandmother) would send her to the pasticeria (bakery) to buy the cucidati for the family. My mother would eat a few on her way home from the bakery and my grandmother would always notice. It’s that image that makes these cookies all the more special to me.
The dough and filling for the Sicilian Fig Cookies are easily made using the food processor. The cookies have a wonderful taste of buttery dough combined with the spiced and nutty fig filling. They look so festive with the sprinkles!
The Sicilian Fig Cookies make a great addition to a holiday cookie tray and are sturdy enough to be included in cookie gift packages. As I add the cucidati to my holiday cookie tray or gift packages I think of my mother as I sneak a few for me.
Liliana Tommasini
My Cookbook Addiction
Social Media
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MyCookbookAddiction
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cbookaddiction
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lilianavtommasini
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/lilianavt
- Dough
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest or lemon zest
- 1 1/4 cups butter at room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups cold water
- Filling
- 3 cups dried figs, stems removed
- 3 cups seedless raisins
- 2 cups almonds, chopped
- 2 cups walnuts, chopped
- 3/4 cup honey
- 4 tablespoons orange juice
- 4 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
- 1/2 cup fig jam
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- Finishing
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon water
- multi-coloured sprinkles
- In bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade, combine 4 cups flour, baking powder, and sugar, salt and orange zest. Pulse to mix.
- Cut butter in cubes; add to flour mixture and pulse to blend until butter resembles the size of peas.
- Add water gradually and mix until ingredients stick together. If dough is too sticky, add remaining 1/4 cup of flour.
- Remove dough from food processor bowl and place on a lightly floured board.
- Knead dough for a few minutes until smooth. Divide dough equally in 4 pieces and shape each piece into a disc.
- Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate while preparing the spiced fig filling.
- Combine figs, raisins and nuts in bowl of food processor fitted with a steel blade.
- Pulse until ingredients are coarsely chopped.
- Add the honey, orange juice, zest, fig jam, and cinnamon to the fig mixture.
- Pulse until well combined. Mixture will be sticky.
- Remove fig mixture from food processor bowl and place in medium sized bowl.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Bring dough to room temperature and cut each disc into 2 pieces. You will have 8 pieces of dough.
- Divide the filling into eight equal pieces and with floured hands roll each piece of filling into a 12 inch log.
- *On a lightly floured board, roll out one piece of dough to form a rectangle (approximately 4×12 inches)
- Place the fig log in the center length of each rectangle. Fold one side over filling and fold the other side to overlap.*
- Repeat from * to * 7 more times. You will have 8 fig logs completed.
- Place 2 fig logs seam side down on prepared cookie sheet.
- Brush top of logs with egg wash and top with multi-coloured sprinkles.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until logs are lightly browned.
- Cool on cookie sheets for 10 minutes.
- Remove logs and place on cutting board.
- Cut each log into 12 slices.
Check out the rest of the Cookie Recipe Advent Calendar here!
The content, recipe and all photos used in this blog post belong to : Liliana Tommasini / My Cookbook Addiction and were used with her permission. Please do not reprint any of the content in this post without her express permission.
These look amazing! Sometimes figs wink at me in the grocery store and I have to ignore them because I don’t know what to do with them. Not anymore!