Italian Fig Cookies Recipe (Cucidati)
Dec 20, 2022, Updated Aug 19, 2024
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Italian Fig Cookies Recipe (Cucidati) are delicious citrus-scented butter cookies with a rich fig and nut filling decorated with a white glaze and colorful sprinkles. These tender Italian fig cookies are a delightful Christmas-time treat. This step-by-step photo guide will help you achieve the perfect Italian fig cookies every time!
Enjoy more Italian cookie recipes– Soft AMARETTI Cookies Sardinian Recipe, Basic Italian Biscotti (Cantucci) Dough, Heart Thumbprint Cookies Recipe with Jam, Homemade Italian Ladyfinger Recipe (Savoiardi), or Italian Butter Cookies, and Italian Pinoli Cookies Recipe (pine nut).
What Is Cucidati
In Italian, we call them Buccellati or Cucciddati; in English, they are called Cucidati or Cuccidati. The word Cuccidati is pronounced coo-chi-dah-tee.
These tasty treats resemble homemade fig newtons cookies in their soft, tender butter cookie appearance. Rather than traditional cookie dough, we use pasta frolla (a rough pastry dough). The baked dough is soft with crisp edges and scented with orange zest. It is delightful!
They are typically served during Christmas and enjoyed yearly in bakeries across Italy. These Sicilian fig cookies are also famous in Sardegna. Every time my family buys a cookie tray from the bakery, you will find these delicious cookies. They are a little time consuming to make but you will know it’s well worth it when you take the first bite!
This is the best Italian fig cookie recipe! Enjoy our family recipe for these Italian fig cookies and make memories baking them this holiday season. Enjoy these Italian Christmas Cookies any time of the year!
Table of Contents
Simple Ingredients
Pasta Frolla (rough pastry dough)
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Egg
- Cold Butter
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Orange zest (or lemon zest)- not pictured
Filling Ingredients (fig filling)
- Dried Figs
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Pine nuts
- Golden raisins (or dark raisins)
- Candied orange peel or lemon peel (or, fresh lemon or orange peel)
- Orange juice (OR marsala wine, OR rum)
- Orange marmalade
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Salt
- Ground anise (optional)
Sugar Glaze and Sprinkles
- Milk
- Powdered Sugar
- Sprinkles (nonperails) for decorating
See the recipe card for quantities.
These sweet dried fruit-filled cookies taste similar to Fig Newtons, a famous cookie eaten by children in the U.S.A.
Italian fig cookie recipes are filled with walnuts, pinenuts, almonds, orange marmalade or jam, dried figs, golden raisins, and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and often anise seeds (common in the Sardinian version).
The filling is wrapped in a little bundle of buttery rough pastry dough (pasta frolla) and baked until slightly golden brown (these cookies remain soft).
Traditionally, cucciddati (cucidati) are topped with a simple icing and classic rainbow sprinkles that you find on other traditional Italian cookies, like Anginetti Cookies.
Any dried figs work for these Italian fig cookie recipes. These cookies are intended for dried and not fresh figs.
- Mission Figs
- Golden figs
- Calimyrna figs
How To Make Cucidati
Make pasta frolla dough
1- Mix (dry ingredients) flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl.
2- Mix with a whisk until incorporated.
3- Add the beaten egg and zest.
4- Mix the egg and zest into the dry ingredients. The dough will be very crumbly at this point.
5- Add the butter to the flour and egg mixture.
6- Mix until incorporated (the dough will be pretty “rough” at this point).
7- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gather it into a ball.
8- Form the dough into two equal portions.
Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (up to 24 hours).
Remove the dough from the refrigerator 30 minutes before rolling it out if chilled a day in advance.
Make the filling
1- Place the figs in a bowl and cover them with warm water (not hot). Let them sit for 30 minutes, drain and squeeze out any excess water, and set aside.
2- Place the nuts, spices, and salt in a food processor and pulse to small crumbs. Pulse enough to form a thick paste, but not smooth nut butter.
3- You still want tiny nut pieces. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
4- Add the figs, raisins, candied orange, marmalade, and marsala wine (orange juice) to the food processor and pulse until combined.
4.1- The mixture will look thick and sticky.
5- Add the fruit mixture to the large bowl of crushed nuts. Mix everything with a wooden spoon until combined.
Roll out the dough
6- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
Use a clean, floured surface to roll 1 dough ball out into a rough rectangle about 8×13 inches and ½cm (¼ inch) thick.
Use a knife to trim the edges, leaving you with a neat rectangle shape. Cut the rectangle into two equal pieces.
7- Add 1/4 of the filling to one end of the rectangles, forming it into a log.
Fill Cookies
8- Roll the pastry dough over the filling until it overlaps at the seam. Trim off any excess pastry dough.
9- Cut the log into 1¼-inch thick slices and place cookies seam side down on the prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
10- Bake for 18-20 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat with the roll-out dough’s second half and 1/4 of the filling. Then, repeat the same process with the other dough ball.
Make the glaze
In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and milk until completely smooth.
FAQs
Yes, you can make cucidati ahead of time. Prepare both the dough and filling a few days in advance and store them in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the cookies and bake them.
Yes, you can freeze fig cookies. Make sure they are wrapped well and sealed in an airtight container. They will freeze for up to 1 month.
Top tips
- Don’t over-knead the pastry dough (pasta frolla) – overworking the pastry dough will make it challenging. If it tears, it is easy to mold it back together.
- Ideal dough temperature – if the dough is left in the fridge for more than 1-2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften slightly. Also essential to keep in mind- don’t let the pastry get too warm, or it’ll be too soft and hard to handle (put it back in the fridge if it gets too warm).
Dip the cooled cookies in the glaze and colorful sprinkles. Enjoy!
Every Italian nonna has a recipe for these traditional fig cookies (cucidati). These delicious biscotti are famous in Sardegna since we have an abundance of fresh fig trees; they are harvested and dried and used to make cookies.
Cucidati cookies are traditionally made during Christmas time. A filling of dried fruit and nuts brings sweetness to the table without relying on out-of-season fruit.
Cucciddati cookies reappear in early March in communities wherever St. Joseph’s Day is celebrated.
You will also enjoy these Rainbow Cookies!
Variations
You can customize the filling ingredients to your taste! Here are some ideas to try the next time you make them.
- Dried Fruit– you can mix the dried fruit to include figs dates and dried apricots.
- Liqueur – alternative to orange juice, you can use Marsala wine, rum, brandy, grappa, or another liqueur you like.
- Marmalade or jam– instead of orange marmalade, try apricot jam.
- Vanilla – add a little vanilla extract if you like to the filling.
- Spices – you can experiment with different festive spices such as cloves and anise.
- Decoration – you can dip or drizzle the icing over the cookies and use any festive sprinkles. Alternatively, you can leave out the icing and dust them with powdered sugar.
I love my Cuisinart Food Processor. It does all my hard work in grinding the nuts and dried fruit! You can also use a high-power blender if you have one available.
*affiliate links
Storage Instructions
Once your cucidati sicilian have cooled, store them in layers in an airtight container. Separate each layer with a sheet of wax paper to prevent the cookies from sticking together. They will last about 1 week.
More Italian Desserts
- Traditional Panettone Recipe (Italian Christmas Cake)
- Authentic Struffoli Recipe (Italian Honey Balls)
- Chiacchiere di Carnevale Recipe (Italian Fried Pastries)
- BEST Italian Wedding Cookies (Anginetti)
- Italian Chocolate Spice Cookies Recipe
- Simple Italian Apple Cake (one bowl)
- Classic Italian Tiramisu Recipe (Authentic)
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Print
Italian Fig Cookies Recipe (Cucidati)
- Total Time: 2 hours (includes chilling time)
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
Description
Italian Fig Cookies Recipe (Cucidati) are delicious citrus-scented butter cookies with a rich fig filling decorated with a white glaze and colorful sprinkles. These tender Italian fig cookies are a delightful Christmas-time treat.
Ingredients
Dough pasta frolla
- 2 cups (500 gr) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 gr) granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 10 tablespoons (200 gr) cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
Filling
- 2 cups dried figs, tough ends trimmed and chopped
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/4 pine nuts
- 2/3 cup golden raisins (or dark raisins)
- 1/3 cup candied orange peel or lemon peel (OR fresh lemon or orange peel combined with 1 tablespoon honey)
- 2 tablespoons Marsala wine (OR orange juice, OR rum)
- 1/3 cup orange marmalade (OR apricot jam)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground anise (optional)
Glaze and sprinkles
- 1 cup powdered sugar/confectioners sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Rainbow nonpareil sprinkles
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Mix (dry ingredients) flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Mix with a whisk until incorporated. Add the beaten egg and zest, mix, then slowly incorporate the butter chunks. Mix until incorporated (the dough will be pretty “rough” at this point).
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gather it into a ball. Form the dough into two equal portions.
- Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (up to 24 hours). Remove the dough from the refrigerator 30 minutes before rolling it out if refrigerated a day in advance.
Make the filling
- Place the figs in a bowl and cover them with warm water (not hot). Let them sit for 30 minutes, then drain and squeeze out any excess water, and set aside.
- Place the nuts, spices, and salt in a food processor and pulse to large crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside. Pulse enough to form a thick paste, but not smooth nut butter. You still want tiny nut pieces.
- Add the figs, raisins, candied orange, marmalade, and marsala wine in the food processor and pulse until combined. The mixture will be thick and sticky.
- Add the dried fruit mixture to the large bowl with the mixed nut mixture. Mix everything with a wooden spoon until combined. It will resemble a thick paste.
Roll out the dough
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Roll 1 dough ball out into a rough rectangle about 8×13 inches and ½cm (¼ inch) thick. Use a knife to trim the edges, leaving you with a neat rectangle shape. Cut the rectangle in half, so you have two pieces.
Fill Cookies
- Add 1/4 of the filling to one end of the rectangles, forming it into a log. Roll the pastry dough over the filling until it overlaps at the seam. Trim off any excess pastry dough off the ends.
- Cut the log into 1¼-inch thick slices and place cookies seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Repeat with the other half of the rolled-out dough and 1/4 of the filling.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Repeat the same process with the other dough ball and the remaining filling.
Make the glaze
- In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and milk until completely smooth.
- Dip the cooled cookies in the glaze and then dip them in a bowl with the sprinkles. Enjoy!
Notes
How to Store Italian Fig Cookies
Once your cookies have cooled, store them in layers in airtight containers. Separate each layer with a sheet of wax paper to prevent the cookies from sticking together. They will last about 1 week.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sweet
- Method: Italian
- Cuisine: Italian
Do you use unsalted or salted butter for dough?
Honestly, either work! I use salted for everything because I love salt! Enjoy
Can’t see measurements of ingredients.
Look at the recipe card at the bottom of the post. I hope that helps.