Cuccidati

Festive holiday Italian cookies made with our organic Sonora 00 flour. Filled with a nut and figgy date filling, this is one sophisticated cookie to impress others by adding to your holiday cookie boxes this season! 

Download a printable version of the recipe here.

Cuccidati

*Italian Holiday Cookies

 Yield: 40 cookies

Tools: Food processor, stand-up or hand-held mixer and pastry bag or large freezer bag

Dough:

245g BSM Sonora 00 flour

50g cane sugar

50g light brown sugar

115g butter (softened)

2g baking soda

3g fine sea salt

1 large egg

6g vanilla extract

Filling:

150g dried dates (pitted)

150g dried figs (roughly chopped)

100g fig jam

40g pepitas (toasted)

40g pecans (toasted)

40g cane sugar

25g candied ginger

Zest 1 large orange

Zest 1 large lemon

3g ground cinnamon

2g ground clove

1g ground anise

3g fine sea salt

1 oz spiced rum (optional)

Icing:

190g confectioner’s sugar

30g water

4g vanilla or flavored extracts

nonpareils sprinkles (or preferred sprinkles)

Method:

Dough:

In a stand-up mixer, cream the butter and sugars together with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add the egg and vanilla, and continue to cream while periodically scraping the sides of the bowl until emulsified. 

 In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix on low until incorporated. It should look like playdough and not be sticky.

Wrap the cookie dough with plastic wrap into a flat disk and chill for 1 hr.

Filling:

In a food processor, combine all of the filling ingredients. Pulse until the mixture becomes a smooth thick paste, scraping down the sides to ensure there are no large chunks. 

Assembly:

On a moderately floured work surface, roll the cookie dough out into a rectangle that is about 6x15 inches and ¼ inch thick. Pipe two rows of the filling length-wise across the dough starting at the edge closest to you. Leave about 2 ½ inches in-between each filling row, and leave a lip at the top of the edge lengthwise. Roll the closest edge of dough to you over the first filling row tightly, and cut the edge. Press gently down to seal the seam. Continue this process with the next filling row, rolling the dough over and creating a seal. Trim off any excess dough at the end.

Place the filled dough logs onto a parchment-lined baking tray and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place the logs in the fridge to chill for 2 hrs. before slicing.

After the logs have chilled, slice 1 ½- 2-inch cookies at a 45°F angle. Place the cookies back on a parchment-lined sheet tray. Place back in the fridge to chill for 30 min or overnight. You can also freeze the cookies at this point.

Preheat an oven to 325°F. Bake for 10 min, rotate, and bake for 5 additional minutes. Allow the cookies to completely cool before dipping the tops only in the icing. Sprinkle the tops with sprinkles and allow to set up before enjoying! Buone feste!